


Embrace Me Under The Moonlight

by CardboarianNights



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: A new spin on Master and 'slave' relationships with vampires, About as wholesome as a vampire fic can get, All of them are similarly aged no huge age gaps, End Game polyamory, Feral Vampire!McCree, Finding a new family, Gabe finds people that accept him and it no longer hurts, M/M, McHanzo is an open secret basically, Multi, Mutual Pinning, Strangers to Lovers, Vampire hunters AU, Vampire!Gabriel, except it does, from feral to normal again, no one is a badguy in the story, past reaper76, slice of life for vampires/hunters, soft vampire/vampire hunter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2018-09-15 01:30:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9213311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CardboarianNights/pseuds/CardboarianNights
Summary: Jesse McCree falls victim to the fangs of a feral vampire and Hanzo Shimada is desperate enough to save his childhood sweetheart by having his father bring in a vampire who is a hunter in their guild. To save Jesse means having him turned into a slave for a vampire master in order to bring McCree's mind back from the brink and it is a risk he is willing to take.Gabriel Reyes is a turned hunter who was called in by his ex-husband, Jack Morrison, to use his status as a vampire to turn a feral hunter back into someone he used to be. He accepts the request but he didn't expect to find both a family and someone to love in the process.





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Most of this story is already written even though I will be posting it chapter by chapter.
> 
> The focus is the experimental method of turning a feral vampire into a 'normal' one and the fallout that comes when the Shimadas basically adopt Gabe when he's suffering from the guilt of having a crush on someone who owes his life to him (and is basically promised to Hanzo).
> 
> THERE IS NO PETTY LOVE TRIANGLE HERE (I think it's super lame and overused)
> 
> But that's not to say that some people will just accept the offer of polyamory at face value.
> 
> You want soft vampires/vampire hunters fic? This is it!
> 
> Edit:
> 
> Character ages are:
> 
> Gabriel and Jack- 40
> 
> Jesse, Hanzo, and Genji- 36, 37, and 35 respectively.

It’s been two years since Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison ended their thirty years of partnership as hunters the moment Gabriel Reyes was bitten and turned. Gabriel remembers how heavy his heart was after Jack suggested they part ways to avoid the obvious conflict of interest and he continued to fight the darkness as a vampire regardless. That’s why Gabriel came running when Jack wrote him a letter, asking for him to come to the hunting guild branch he was at to take on new work. Gabriel’s red eyes widened as Jack took him down into the basement and showed him what he meant by ‘new work’ since it clearly didn't mean them teaming up again.

In a small cell was a snarling man in hunter's leather coat, dried blood caked into his hair, scruffy beard, and clothing with several rips down the front and back of his coat. Fanged teeth snapped at Jack and Gabriel, pupils enlarged and desperate as he tried to push his face through the metal bars, clawed hands reaching for them. Brown hair was partially pulled back into a low ponytail and was barely holding his hair behind his hair at this point. The hunter couldn't have been more than three to five years younger than Gabriel, maybe around his mid thirties?

“What did you bring me out here for, Jack? You can't put down a feral?” 

Blue eyes narrowed at his own.

“This is Jesse McCree, one of our best hunters, Gabe. If we had any intention of putting him down then we would have done it rather than cage him up down here and call you in.” Jack spoke firmly. “The Council of Hunters want you to make him your servant and bring his mind back from madness. Blood from another vampire can turn the effects of feral behavior around as long as you can manage him as his master.”

“You think I don't know that, Jack?” Gabriel huffed, a bit hurt that he thought so little of him now when they used to be… much more.

Gabriel was just barely tolerated in the guild now and it looks like the Council wants to call in favors for leaving him be to continue his work even when turned. So much for thirty years of fucking service. Gabriel approached the cage where McCree continued to claw at the air, snarling and growling like a savage animal for food. 

Probably three days along in being feral from the looks of it since his hair still had a decent healthy shimmer to it. The skin tone going pale was always the first step, then the hunger for blood, so it was still possible to bring his mind back from the brink but it was still a huge handful for Gabriel to handle alone…

He glanced over at Jack as the man leaned up against the stone wall while he watched Gabriel with interest.

“I’ll need a secure residence in order to even start thinking about rehabilitating him.” 

“All ready for you. Not too far of a walk either so you can get your blood tablets and anything else you could possibly need from here.” Jack replied easily. Everything really was ready for him much like Gabriel expected from Jack Morrison now that he was much higher in the guild ranks and could allocate resources more effectively. “You’ll be staying with the Shimadas since their residence is most suited for rehabilitating McCree.”

“Meaning it has a dungeon.” Gabriel rolled his eyes sarcastically. He knew the Shimadas were the big wigs in this part of the country and the leaders of the guild branches as well. Ryuu Shimada was a member of the Council as well so it’s a bit surprising that the Shimadas were opening one of their mansions for an experiment that had the ability to get blood everywhere very quickly. Apparently, it was likely one of their older premises nearby and not nearly as large or grand in nature like rumors Gabriel heard.

“Hanzo Shimada himself was the one who arranged the whole thing. The both of them are partners so tread carefully with this one and not just in a personal sense.”

“What? It’s entirely possible that he won't return to who he was even if I do try to run interference.”

“It’s still worth pursuing than the alternatives, Gabe.”

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “I don't exactly have a handle on what a vampire exactly has to do to pull a feral under its control much less make McCree see reason past the haze of bloodlust.”

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out, Gabe.”

Gabriel looked at Jack firmly. “You’ll be helping me with this, Jack? You’re not going to just cast me to the wolves with this one, right?”

Jack was quiet for a few moments, the air heavy between them as the distance between them was more apparent than ever. He wanted so badly for a chance to work with him again, prove that he hadn't changed since being turned. That Jack would hold and trust him again like he once did.

“You’ll have plenty of help, Gabe. Genji and Hanzo Shimada, Ryuu Shimada’s sons, are both highly capable hunters in their own right with a high stake in seeing McCree recover. I can assist if the situation escalates beyond your control but I have other duties that come first. Please understand that I have complete faith in you producing results in this case but, if the Shimadas will like the end result is up in the air, I’ll have your back if things go south.” He reassured him, a spark of warmth in Jack's words that didn't leave room for any interpretation that he would go back on his word.

With that said, Jack push off the wall he was leaning on and went back up the steps leaving Gabriel alone in the basement with the feral vampire and with a heavier weight on his heart knowing he could never have him back.

\--

The mansion was definitely used by squatters for a number of years from how neglected the premises was. A thick layer of dust laid over everything and servants were rushing about trying to get the place up to decent living standards along with carpenters and other skilled laborers. McCree was dragged away almost immediately after Gabriel left the guild branch, and the rapid thrashing and snarling he heard coming from the basement as Genji Shimada personally led him down into the torch lit depths after he dropped off his gear in his designated room.

Hanzo Shimada stood in front of the cage with his hands neatly folded behind his back, seeming like a calm breeze before the storm that was the feral vampire throwing himself into the bars. The basement was as damp and dreary as you expect it to be, chains hanging from the walls and various restraint devices meant for torture scattered about. All meant to restrain McCree in his savage state without injury to himself or anyone but still gave off the air of a torture chamber than anything else.

Hanzo dressed himself in the standard fashion most high society did with a white tunic, dark blue vest, and black leather slacks into leather boots, an air of regality about him in the way he turned to address Gabriel even with his hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Genji wore similar attire but his hair was wild rather than slicked back, and he was relaxed in both manner and speech when he greeted him at the door rather than a butler. Said that ‘everyone was busy’ when Gabriel questioned him about it when he led him to his room - Not unusual to have a rebel in the family since he certainly was one too.

“Brother, this is Gabriel Reyes. Gabriel Reyes, my brother, Hanzo Shimada.” Genji politely introduced them, and Gabriel took a step forward to hold out his gloved hand to the older Shimada. Hanzo took his hand and gave it a confident, firm shake. As cordial as the Shimada siblings both were, they didn’t hide the numerous silver knives on their belts - A firm, yet subtle warning.

“Greetings. I apologize for the neglected state of the house. We moved back from Japan after a great absence from this country and some of our homes are not as well maintained as others.” Hanzo began politely as he folded his hand back behind his back as he regarded Gabriel with a subtle bow of his head. 

“It’s not like you won’t have the place up and running within a few days with the number of contractors you have on the premise, Mr. Shimada. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest since I can tell you you rather not be here at all.”

“My hands are effectively tied in that matter but we should focus on why you are here.” Hanzo turned his head to look at the feral vampire still throwing himself into the bars of the cage, furiously trying to reach for Hanzo since he was the closest one to the cage. Gabriel nodded his head as he looked from McCree to Hanzo.

“First thing’s first, Mr. Shimada. I want you both aware that I have a grasp on the theory of how the process works for turning a feral into a servant vampire but it’s not exactly well documented on how to actually go about it.”

“That is fine. Anything you can do to possibly turn this around would be well worth the time and expense.” Genji spoke confidently beside Gabriel. 

“Even if he doesn’t comeback entirely the same?” Gabriel asked curiously and watched Hanzo Shimada carefully as he waited to see how he would react to that. Hanzo remained quiet for a moment, his eyes still on McCree, and it made it rather obvious that their bond might be something more than just partners. Something he really wished he wouldn’t have to get involved in.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Hanzo asked carefully.

“Other than the fact that I’ll be playing this as I go along, turning into a vampire changes people. I’m not talking about the physical or behavioral aspects that come with blood lust but the actual emotional process of being changed. The torture of being turned gave me a new outlook on life and I reevaluated how I compartmentalized a lot of things. It ruined my marriage even though I feel like I’m a better person than I was before.” Gabriel explained to Hanzo, still a bit sour about Jack’s treatment of him earlier and how they couldn’t reconcile their differences. He figured sharing a bit of insight from his perspective might help both of the Shimada brothers if Gabriel was able to bring fragments of their friend back, especially Hanzo.

“You should begin so McCree does not have to continue suffering a moment longer while we talk. Genji will assist you as needed since I have work that must be carried out today that can be put off no longer.”

“Do You want me to tell you what my plans are before I act on them or am I free to do as I please to fix him?” Gabriel asked, intentionally wording it crudely.

Hanzo’s eyes narrowed at him coldly. “Genji is free to escort you off the premise should he find your assistance to be too cruel. I’d advise you to consider this since it might affect your standing within the guild, as delicate as it is right now.”

Gabriel nodded his head, glad to know where the line was and that the older Shimada was indeed worried about the feral’s wellbeing, regardless of him being a feral. It was reassuring to know that McCree was still loved when Jack all but slowly grew more cold to him. 

“I’ll keep you in the loop should I try something a bit more drastic but I’m not planning on starting off that big anyways.”

Hanzo raised a brow at that, as did Genji. “What is your first idea then, Mr. Reyes?”

Gabriel looked at McCree and then thought hard back to when he was first turning. 

“Blood. Going to give him my blood since I took four blood tablets before heading over here.” Gabriel shrugged his shoulders casually as Hanzo shot him a worried look.

“‘Four’? You anticipate that much blood loss?” Hanzo turned right back around as he was going to head for the stairs and Genji followed him over to the cage as Gabriel crouched down beside it, rolling back his sleeves to expose his arm, looking at McCree empathetically. 

Gabriel then took a deep breath and held his forearm horizontal to the bars so McCree would not be able to pull his arm in as the feral vampire grasped his arms desperately, nails digging in hard enough to draw dark droplets of blood. Then the feral bit down sharply into Gabriel’s arm, his tongue lashing sloppily at the wounds as he tore at Gabriel’s flesh with his canines, practically eating his flesh than sucking from the bite wound. Genji and Hanzo immediately grabbed him and yanked him out of McCree’s grip as the feral screamed loudly in offense from having his meal pulled away from him. Blood and tissue hanging from his teeth as Gabriel clamped his hand down onto the gaping wounds on his arms.

Okay. Clearly he doesn’t know how to feed politely.

“YOU IDIOT! WHAT PLAN WAS THAT?!” Hanzo spat as he shouted some Japanese at Genji and the younger brother departed as quickly as possible to go upstairs, likely getting a doctor or a first aid kit to clean his wounds. 

“Okay. We’re going to need to tranquilize him so he won’t be able to do that again. It’s not as bad as it could have been and I’ve been bitten by ferals enough to know he was holding back.”

Hanzo got down on his knees to help apply pressure to the wounds, the blood tablets would keep him from going into a blood lust since he had sometime to prep himself. Gabriel was glad he mentioned how many tablets he took to the brothers before he did something dumb like that, cause Hanzo was trying to help negate blood loss rather than restraining him or worse. Blood lust wasn’t an instantaneous thing either but being under stress certainly could trigger it if a vampire was wounded in a fight. Luckily that wouldn't be the case since the only threat here was in a cage.

“You are doing NOTHING until you are sufficiently healed! You are suppose to be a professional and yet you stick your hand into a feral vampire’s cage?!” 

“I let him bite my arm, not my hands, alright?! This wound will be healed up in about an hour while you guys get your hands on some tranquilizing darts to take the edge off his blood lust. You had to have some to transport him around!”

Hanzo’s lips purse up in disgust, either from the reminder that he was indeed a vampire and not human, or that Gabriel was right. Actually, both ways reminded the hunter that he was a vampire and not human like them but that didn’t stop him from continuing to apply pressure to his wound as blood stained his hands. Probably stubborn pride keeping him in place more than anything else.

Genji came back down with a medical kit and got working on disinfecting Gabriel’s wounds as the three of them noticed that McCree wasn’t being as loud as he was before. His dirt-stained hands merely clutching onto the bars as he spat out wads of skin and muscle he ripped out of Gabriel’s arm onto the floor. A great sign that McCree wasn’t fully feral and resisting the changes to his mind since ferals didn’t care if they ate flesh or not when eating a meal.

\--

Turns out he was right about the Shimadas using heavy duty tranquilizers to sedate McCree for transportation, so he wouldn't draw so much attention during it. It was going to be a lot easier to work with a dazed McCree than one that was batshit off of his rocker. Gabriel and Genji discussed at lengths together about how McCree should be handled around the servants and such, more so to make up rules that would help keep McCree in a more manageable state when the tranquilizers effects started to wear off after feedings. A few sheets would be draped over the cage after cleaning it out and feedings took place to visual deny McCree and encourage rest since no one would be allowed into the basement without Genji since he had the only key. The goal was for allow for a quiet environment for McCree to rest and let Gabriel’s blood slowly work its effects on him.

“Next should be forbidding Hanzo from assisting us unless the situation is too much for us to handle.” Genji spoke as he transcribed their conversation onto parchment with ink and quill in hand while Gabriel sat across from him at the smaller table in Genji’s personal quarters. 

Gabriel's arm was healing well enough with no signs of infection, and drinking blood from a wine glass that one of the servants brought for him, assuring him it was blood from the local butcher’s shop and not human-originated. He looked up at Genji curiously as he took a sip from his glass.

“You think his presence causes McCree distress?”

“No. It’s more so Hanzo will not feel tempted to visit Jesse while both of them should be resting. If you don't set boundaries with Hanzo then he’ll do as he pleases. It’s how he is. Follows the rules to a ‘T’.” Genji explained simply, continuing to write after dipping his quill into the ink. “It would be better for everyone after you told us that your turning ruined your relationship with what I assume was another hunter. It might help if he’s not present to witness his return and just see the end result.”

Understandable. Looks like at least his flub with his own marriage might be able to provide some light for the Shimadas on what to possibly expect from all of this, as embarrassing as it is to admit to a failed marriage. 

“Are they lovers, your brother and McCree?” Gabriel asked curiously.

Genji’s quill paused on that, his eyes pressed closed for a moment before he looked up at Gabriel. “We grew up with Jesse since his family was indebted to the Shimada clan for circumstances that are no longer relevant since his family has since paid it off. My brother is fond of him and has been for a long time. It’s obvious to even our father on how much Jesse means to Hanzo, hense why he immediately contacted Mr. Morrison to have you brought in if there was even a sliver of hope of reversing this misfortune on a man who does not deserve it.”

Gabriel nodded his head in understanding. Those two were indeed something very close but not official that anyone in the family could say outwardly to a stranger. It gave him a better idea of who he was working to save and how careful he would have to be with McCree to not offend Gabe's current hosts.

“Do you really think we can actually save him though, Mr. Reyes?” Genji asked quietly. “I… I have my doubts about all of this… That we might just be prolonging Jesse’s suffering.”

“I have heard and seen vampires who have turned ferals into bodyguards and foot soldiers. Killed plenty of crafty ones too, so, it is possible to bring him back under control with me as his anchor but how much of him returning is up in the air here. I genuinely want to believe it's possible.” Gabriel admitted carefully.

Genji sighed heavily, not seeming relieved at all for Gabriel’s opinion as he dipped his quill into the ink to continue writing. It was the best answer Gabriel could give him since he didn't know if his involvement will help or not either. He wanted to remain hopefully that luck might be on his side for once in his life and he could save one life with his vampiric powers. 

Just once let things go well for him…


	2. vampire containment

Gabriel lets the doped out McCree lay his forehead against his shoulder as he steadies his weight, letting the servants help scrub down the feral in a portable tub they had brought down for him. He kept a firm arm around McCree to keep him from falling over as the vampire would be sedate for an hour before the effects of the tranquilizer ran out. The water in the tub was warm but required the servants to rush up and down to the basement with fresh buckets of hot water since they had no ways to bring in or out water in the basement.

Genji sat on a crate nearby, playing spotter for all of them with his hands on the silver knives on his belt, his foot tapping anxiously against the stone floor as they all worked quickly to get McCree cleaned up while other servants cleaned out his cage before bringing in a cot for McCree to sleep on. 

McCree softly moaned against Gabriel's shoulder from time to time, the servants absolutely forbidden to speak unless spoken to once the feeding hour commenced. Gabe’s shoulder was wrapped up from where McCree chose to feed from him earlier so the feral’s belly was as fully as he could tolerate and Gabriel hoped he would drift off to sleep rather than wake back up when the drugs wore off. That’s why they all had to work as quickly and quietly as possible to not try their luck by leaving everything to wrap up at the last minute.

It was awkward having Genji cut his shoulder with a knife as Gabriel guided the sleepy feral to the wound, allowing it to feed as McCree ignored the servants washing his hair the moment they got him into the tub when he was relaxed enough to be pulled from the cage earlier. He had to try twice before his teeth would dig into Gabriel's skin to drink from the inflicted wound and the ones the feral made himself. It was a good step forward to teach him the muscle memory of feeding properly instead of him violently tearing off the flesh. Associating calm and relaxation with feeding was going to be his goal rather than something akin to hunting like his instinct would tell him. McCree was a dirty mess but very cooperative in this state, not fighting against the drugs like he feared. 

“You’re doing good, McCree. Very good.” Gabriel whispered softly. 

He needed to be his master, right? That meant McCree should associate all of this with him. That good things happen when Gabriel is around. He gets blood, a warm bath, warm clothing, and a clean cage to rest in right after. Getting the Shimadas in on that association of comfort and security would come after he’s sufficiently under control and won't attack anyone.

McCree stirred, grunting softly and slightly shifting his head against Gabriel's shoulder but didn't make an attempt to move or anything else. Gabriel gently patted his clean back, assuming that it was a positive interaction and his English speaking skills would probably come back later. Genji was looking at Gabriel, trying to assess his comfort and the threat level McCree posed constantly when he did more than just breath a moan softly. Genji was also barred from talking unless absolutely necessary so McCree could bond with Gabe. Gabriel made an ‘okay’ gesture with his fingers against McCree’s back, making Genji nod his head in acknowledgement that everything was fine. He continued tapping his foot on the floor while the other was crossed over his leg. Genji was very wound up and visibly anxious that Gabriel almost wanted to say something to him but didn't think to talk about that with Genji prior. 

It was understandable that he wasn’t brought up to handle such an unorthodox way of dealing with vampires, much less putting his family’s servants at risk of being bitten as they help bathe a feral vampire. If anyone was going to get bitten, it would be Gabriel since he was the one physically closer to McCree but there was always the risk of something unexpected happening that he had to be on guard for, even if no threat turned up.

In the end, things went smoothly as Gabriel scooped McCree out of the tub and set him down on some fluffy towels laid out on the floor as the servants started drying him off, Gabriel keeping his hand over McCree’s mouth, gentle but firmly, as they started putting on a plain cotton tunic, pants, stockings, and underwear. McCree just stay slumped against Gabe’s chest as he stayed kneeled behind him with his hand over his mouth since the mouth gag would be in tomorrow so he wouldn't have to risk his fingers to protect the servants and Genji. He was just dozing on and off from how relaxed he was. 

“That’s good, McCree. We’re almost done. You’re doing a good job.” Gabriel whispered encouragingly to him, drawing a soft hum from McCree after a few minutes passed when he was carrying the feral in his arms back to his cage. The sheets were already over the cage except for the door as Gabriel squeezed inside and gently laid McCree on the soft, plush cot. He pulled the thin sheet over McCree that was in the cage so he would be effectively tucked in and carefully crawled out before Genji quietly closed the door behind him. After McCree was safely locked back up, Genji pulled the sheet down for the front of the cage and they both went to help the servants clean up.

Hanzo was waiting upstairs for them when they finished up, he instructed Gabriel to bathe so they could all eat breakfast together when it was ready. The staff that assisted them with McCree was relieved for an hour long break to recover from the stress of working near a feral vampire, however sedated he was, while the other half worked like it was a normal day. Gabriel went upstairs and found the bath at the end of the hallway in the guest wing, full of steaming water, much to his delight. He set down the fresh clothing he got from his room before heading over to the bath and started stripping down after locking the door behind him. 

Gabriel practically melted as he slipped into the tub and sighed as the heavenly warmth enveloped him. His worn out muscles from being on the road and bathing in streams, lakes, etc. for the past several months that hot water was like a fucking luxury in itself much less bathing in a huge tub. He was going to be late for breakfast because totally felt like needing to soak for a few hours, give or take.

Gabriel closed his eyes and reclined back into the ceramic tub. His mind relaxed as well, bringing up relaxing image of small leaves drifting in the wind, pink as flower petals.

\--

“Sorry for being so late to breakfast.” Gabriel apologized as he took a seat at the table, noticing that no one ate their food while he probably took a thirty minute long nap in the bathroom after getting out from how warm and comfortable the room was; Completely unprofessional.

You’ve changed, Gabriel. 

He pushed Jack’s painful words from his head as Hanzo shook his head.

“Worry not. Genji is usually late to meal time anyways so the food is warm and ready to be eaten regardless of your lateness. I figured you both would need more time anyways since it was a rather eventful morning?” Hanzo handwaved as the servants pulled the lids off their plates, revealing a bloody cut of steak that had Gabriel mentally salivating as he looked at it. “Would you like milk or water, Mr. Reyes?”

“Water would be fine.” He answered as he picked up his fork and steak knife to start cutting into the meat. Gabriel could eat some human food and not get sick so long as his diet was split 50/50 with blood. Pure vampires, one born from both vampire parents, had to have a 75/25 ratio with mostly blood so he was rather happy about not having to just get through the day purely on blood tablets since that was a lousy way to live. Hanzo and Genji ate an English-style breakfast in contrast to his steak cut.

“Jesse got his bath and breakfast without much of a fight after we darted him.” Genji explaimed as he ate. “Pretty much slept and groaned the entire time. Kind of like when we tried to wake him up in the morning when we were kids.”

Hanzo huffed haughtily at that. “He STILL does that. A grown man whining because he doesn't want to get out of bed, the nerve of it all.” He rolled his eyes as Genji snickered, drawing a brief smile from Hanzo before he went back to his food.

Maybe he wasn't the type to get depressed over memories but he hardly doubted it. No way Hanzo doesn't reflect on what relationship he had with McCree and not mourn what he has lost when he looks at the feral vampire. Probably the type to grieve alone.

Like Jack…

“Did he say anything though? You said he ‘groaned’ but possibly he might have been mumbling?” Hanzo asks curiously as he glances over at Gabriel.

“No. It was definitely just moaning and groaning like a half-asleep person rather than a sleep talker situation. If he ever says a word then I’ll let you know immediately no matter how trivial, Mr. Shimada.” Gabriel reassured him firmly before taking a bite of the steak and noticing that it was seasoned instead of just left completely raw. Oh, what an excellent blend of flavors in his mouth!

“Heh. You expect a Shimada to serve his guest a flat piece of meat? Hardly! Even a vampire will be treated properly in our household if they are our guest!” Hanzo speaks with ample pride, probably compelled to such from Gabriel's reaction to the food and his reassurance of keeping Hanzo in the loop no matter how trivial. It was to show his gratitude in his own way to make sure his expectations for treatment were blown out of the water? That was something he could get behind after two straight years of shit treatment by society, even if the arrangement was just temporary. Genji chuckled in amusement at Hanzo going ham and continued to eat while they shifted to more casual conversation.

\--

The lunch time feeding came and Gabriel stayed in the cage with Jesse after he was sedated by the tranquilizer dart. Them sitting on Jesse’s cot together, the feral on Gabriel’s lap as he guided Jesse’s head to his bare shoulder after pulling his coat aside to reveal himself shirtless underneath, to make it easier for access. He used Genji’s dagger to slit a wound on the opposite shoulder since they figured the other one used this morning should heal up sufficiently before the dinner feeding. Jesse came down quicker with the tranquilizer dart in the afternoon since he was significantly more relaxed than he was in the morning, laying down on his cot and looking at them in a slight daze (possibly sleeping?). 

He had to be darted anyways as a safety precaution.

Jesse sunk his teeth into Gabriel's flesh, still clumsy, more nipping at him accidentally as his tongue lapped at the wound.

“Don't be lazy, McCree. You need to actually dig your teeth in since I won't always have a knife on me that’s good at keeping wounds open when you drink.” Gabriel softly scolded him, his hand on the back of McCree’s head to keep it in place, and another on his back. 

Another half-hearted nip on his skin before he finally bit down when the wound started to clot. Gabriel gritted his teeth at the unnecessary amount of teeth he was using to grip his flesh when he only needed his canines to do the work. It apparently was an art form to bite correctly and cause the victim to feel pleasure rather than pain. McCree could really use pointers on proper biting techniques, in his opinion. 

But, at least he was drinking, tongue lazily lapping at the puncture wounds he made and Gabriel reclined back against the bars of the cage to try to get comfortable. Jesse was a slow drinker, and like a good blood bag, Gabriel just let him take what he wanted since he was incapable of drinking more than a pint while his body adjusted to blood. Most of the blood would end up as waste as his body’s intestinal tract made the slow conversation, unlike the rest of his body which had been starved for the past three days, as far as Gabriel knew. 

Gabriel never drank blood directly from a human before so he had no idea what kind of a ‘drinker’ he was, as other vampires put it. He just drank his maintenance amount in blood tablets and was good for the rest of the day.

Genji was sitting on a crate right next to the cage, all the sheets folded upwards onto the roof to allow him to see everything and react accordingly. He watched in mild curiosity as McCree fed off Gabriel slowly, likely not used to seeing a consensual feeding between two vampires before, much less seeing his childhood friend feeding off a stranger. He rolled a silver throwing knife lazily between his fingers without even looking down, letting on subconsciously that he might actually be pretty dangerous with those things if he could roll it that quickly down his fingers. 

“Mmnn…” McCree vocalized softly. Likely him just enjoying the feeding than an attempt to vocalize as he sucked away at Gabe’s shoulder; Still, he did promise Hanzo… 

“You’re a brat, you know. You don’t need to bite so much to keep me bleeding…” Gabriel sighed softly in annoyance.

“Mmn.” McCree uselessly replied, drawing another exacerbating sigh from Gabriel’s lips. 

Just how much longer was this going to take? He was going to have a hell of a hickie on his shoulder from how much McCree insisted on sucking and nibbling his flesh between his painfully sharp front teeth. Keeping himself from wincing every time he nipped made him think he was more like a fucking tit then a blood bag. 

Jesus christ.

McCree finally unlatched from him and rested the side of his face against Gabe’s shoulder, making the older man roll his eyes because now he would have to wipe the blood off of the side of McCree’s cheek like a decent person would. When Gabriel pushed himself up and off the bars, feeling the sting of discomfort from resting so long against it, McCree groaned softly in what might have been protest.

“I’m not sleeping with you, McCree.”

“Mmn…”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

He eventually maneuvered the sleepy feral off him and back onto the cot before pulling out his handkerchief to try to wipe the blood off his cheek the best he could. Once he pulled the covers back over McCree neatly, Gabriel exited the cage, his coat under one arm and the other hand pressed to his stinging wound before Genji gently locked up the cage again. They both rolled the sheets over the sides of the cage down so it was covered before heading back upstairs so Gabriel could get his wound cleaned and tended to. 

\--

“So, he fed of you like an infant?” Hanzo grinned in amusement as Gabe and Genji told him about the rather uneventful afternoon feeding and McCree’s sloppy feeding habits.

They were all eating fancy marinated chicken for lunch after Gabriel let Hanzo and the waiting staff know what he could and couldn't eat. He had a huge wine glass filled with fresh animal blood as opposed to the chardonnay Genji and Hanzo were sipping with their meal. There were even fresh vegetables on his plate that he hadn't even attempted to buy for two years and it looked all so good to him!

“It was hilarious, Hanzo!” Genji laughed as he began cutting into his chicken with his fork and knife. “It was like the time he got drunk and stumbled into a barn to suck on one of the dairy cow’s nipples!”

Hanzo had to cover his mouth after he took a sip from his wine glass almost losing his composure over Genji recounting the crude memory to his brother. He swallowed the sip harshly and cleared his throat as Genji snickered mischievously at his brother’s slip up.

“Jesse has a bad habit of getting into trouble, as you can guess.” Hanzo clarified for Gabriel, as if him almost spitting out his chardonnay didn’t happen. 

What an interesting bunch of people he’s getting to know over this whole thing.

Gabriel took a bite of his chicken and felt himself smile at Hanzo’s pointing out of the obvious. Or- wait. Why did it feel obvious when he never met or heard of Jesse McCree before? He was slightly troubled by the assumptions he was making about a guy he was helping and heavily sedated when feeding on him. He had no idea what McCree was normally like or even how he carried himself.

“Is something not to your liking?” Hanzo asked curiously as Gabriel noticed both he and Genji were looking at him.

“No. Just got distracted by a passing thought. The meal is delicious, Mr. Shimada.” Gabriel smiled before setting his utensils down to pick up the wine glass with blood in it, taking his time to enjoy the fresh blood as Genji merely shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating.

“So, what kind of a person was Jesse McCree, anyways? You say he’s a bit of a troublemaker?” Gabriel asked as he took a curious bite of the olive oil cooked asparagus and was delighted to find that he still liked the taste, especially with the pepper sprinkled on it for flavoring.

“Jesse was always an eccentric and had a passion for justice that refused to truly be tamed even when it landed him into dangerous situations.” Hanzo explained fondly as he set his utensils down and set his elbows down on the table, weaving his fingers together I'm front of himself as he talked. “Even when we were children, he would not stand for injustice and always dreamed of being a hunter like our father was; one who saw the good in the dark and the evils in the light in equal. Genji and I were to be hunters, as is the fate of any Shimada, but Jesse truly embodies what it means to be a fair hunter. The existence of you still being permitted in the guild is the culmination of our father’s dream to see both human and other fighting along side to protect the delicate balance. It’s my hope that Jesse will still be able to continue to follow his dream of being a hunter ‘for justice’, if at all possible.”

Gabriel nodded his head, remembering back to when he was training Jack and how he also believed in the balance between the light and the dark. Jack was Gabriel’s consciousness in those dark times when he was still bound by the ideology that all things in the dark were evil since he was raised to believe that and saw the horrors of slaughter innocents many times before taking Jack on. Figures, it would be ‘outsiders’ like Jack and the Shimadas that would change traditional hunters like Gabriel into ones who could see the world for what it really was than the neat picture generations of hunting families passed down to one another. What matters is that he has changed and judges situations individually before passing down justice.

“He sounds like a great hunter.” Gabriel smiled as he began cutting up his vegetables.

“Jesse is an excellent marksman as well. One of the finest I’ve ever met that can match my skill with the bow or Genji’s with his knives. Highly resourceful and thinks outside of the box when situations get difficult. He has saved our lives more times than I can personally recall so the Shimada clan will not stand idle to his suffering if there is a chance to bring him back.”

“Understandable. He’s really lucky to have you and your family at his side, Mr. Shimada.”

“Hanzo. You may address me as Hanzo and my brother as Genji. We may be your hosts but we are comrades in the same guild working together, Yes?”

Gabriel smiled warmly at that. “You maybe call me ‘Gabriel’ then, if you would like.”

“Gabriel, it is then.” Genji smiled in agreement.

\--

By the end of the day, Genji and Gabriel arranged a daily schedule for the household on what would be done with McCree during certain feeding times after figuring out when the feral was the calmest after the evening feeding.

Morning:

-Ten minutes to adjust to tranquilizer  
-Removal of McCree from cage to begin feeding  
-Servants come in when feeding is done to clean the cage and replace the linens  
-If McCree is soiled then he will be bathed and clothing changed out. Bathing will be done after the evening feeding, if convinent.  
-Servants will vacate the room after cleaning is done and McCree relocated to his cage.

Lunch:

-Ten minutes for tranquilizer to take effect  
-McCree will be fed inside of his cage unless it is soiled.  
-If cage is soiled then McCree will be fed outside of it while servants clean.  
-Servants vacate the basement when feeding is over and McCree relocated to cage.

Dinner:

-Ten minutes for tranquilizer to take effect  
-McCree will be fed outside of his cage and servants will clean it as necessary.  
-McCree will then be bathed if he hasn’t already been in the morning (due to lack of aggression in the evenings).  
-McCree will then be changed into new clothing and put back into his cage.

Bath:

-Gabriel Reyes is to control and position McCree to ensure safety of servants at all times. All servants must obey his instructions when given. No exceptions.  
-After McCree is undressed he will be lowered into warm water in the portable bath and Gabriel Reyes will proceed to wash McCree’s hair, face, and neck.  
-After he finishes his work, servants will proceed to clean the rest of McCree’s body while Gabriel controls his head and repositions McCree as necessary.  
-McCree will then be pulled from the bath and set on a layer of towels for comfort and be hand dried by servants with towels. Reyes will control McCree’s head and dry his hair, if McCree cooperates.  
-McCree will then be changed into new clothing depending on the temperature in the basement. Reyes will be assisted by Genji Shimada to help put on his tunic while servants steady his body from behind McCree.  
-Once he is dressed, Reyes will brush his hair, if time allows.  
-Servants vacate the basement when McCree will be carried back to his cage and laid down.  
-Reyes and Genji will assist servants to help empty the temporary bath unless otherwise stated

Gabriel imagined that there was already rules and protocols for how the staff and contractors were to accommodate a vampire that had to be up during daylight hours rather than only working during the night. All the shades were pulled in the hallways and his bedroom in the guest wing even had thick, black curtains over the windows to assure no light would peek in while he rested. There also was no servants around him when Genji wasn't walking with him around the mansion, not that he wandered outside of the guest wing after eating dinner because he was so worn out from the mental and physical stress of providing for McCree and keeping everyone else safe when he handled the feral.

It wouldn't be until a few days later that Genji would confirm such rules were in place to keep the mental health of their staff in check while a vampire walked amongst them; hunter or not. 

“The servants are all trained to handle attacks from vampires and other supernatural forces so they are a little on the edge since we have a feral vampire in the basement and an actual one walking about the house freely.” Genji explained as he threw his knife and hit a straw training dummy in the head with ease while Gabriel lifted his crossbow to take aim at his own straw dummy beside Genji's a fair distance from them in the garden. It was night time but Genji insisted they do some training before turning in for bed to keep their skills sharp. 

“It’s fine. Whatever helps put their minds at ease that McCree and I are not going to bite them in the middle of the night.” 

He fired his shot and hit the dummy dead center in the chest before reloading.

“At least McCree is making progress.” Genji smiled happily. “He’s using the bucket we put in the corner of his cage to relieve himself rather than soiling his clothes and is calmer in the mornings before we dart him.”

Indeed. The bucket trick was something you had to teach someone so he might be getting his mind back slowly as Gabriel’s influence slowly acted as the glue to bring back the hunter’s mind. Or at least he hoped since the feral might just be adjusting his behavior for convenience sake’s to survive in a cage. Please let it not be that…

“Do you feel any different?” Genji asked as he produced three knives from his belt and threw them all one after the other in quick succession.

“What do you mean by that?” Gabriel asked curious as he fired another shot.

“You are to be McCree’s master, right? Master vampires can control their servant’s minds and even read their memories so they can more easily manipulate them. Is anything like that happening?”

Gabriel paused as he thought about it for a moment before lowering his crossbow and looking at Genji. “When I’m relaxed, sometimes I see visions that aren’t mine; Pink leaves drifting in the wind, faces of people I don’t know smiling at me and making teasing remarks, a six-shot pistol fitting familiarly in my hand. Is it really his memories or am I just imagining them because of our conversations during meals?” He shook his head as he ran a hand through his short, wavy hair. “I just don’t want to give you guys hope that something might be happening when it’s just my own mind playing tricks on me.”

Genji nodded his head and sighed before looking back at the training dummies, his belt out of knives. “Alright. Thanks for telling me anyways, Gabriel. Our father is looking into other guilds to see if they have any vampires that might be able to better guide you in one way or another so you can asks questions and such. Anyways, we should probably get our stuff and head in since Mr. Morrison will be in tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Gabriel agreed as he put his crossbow onto his back holster before he walked with Genji to retrieve his bolts from the dummies and head back into the mansion to get some much needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoy this story please leave a comment! It really helps motivate me to know what you guys like/dislike about it so I can get better as a writer!
> 
> My tumblr is mercy-for-old-soldiers.tumblr.com!


	3. dont talk shit

Jack got into the mansion early in the morning, a bit surprised to see Gabriel awake as he was as Hanzo greeted him while Gabe and Genji prepped the servants who would be assisting them for the morning feeding. Gabriel noticed Jack when he walked over and handed him a new supply of blood tablets along with a polite ‘good morning’. Gabriel pocketed the pills, noticing that they looked different than they normally did, and nodded his head in acknowledgement of both the gift and his greeting.

“Right now, Genji and Gabriel are preparing the staff for the morning feedings for Jesse. I will leave it to their discretion if they will allow you to watch the feeding but I must attend to other duties, Mr. Morrison.” Hanzo promptly bowed his head politely before effectively dumping Jack on them.

Genji looked at Gabriel silently for his opinion on letting Jack watch them and shrugged his shoulders dismissively. Jack could follow the rules quite easily if they told him what was what.

“I have no problem with you watching, Jack. Genji?” Gabriel passed the ball to the key holder to let him decide the outcome.

“I do not either as long as you follow the rules we have in place for our servants when feedings occur. We have a strict ‘no talking’ policy. Only Gabriel is allowed to talk freely unless the matter is an emergency. Not even I am allowed to talk. You will observe from the corner closest to the staircase for your safety and will not be able to intervene even in an emergency when it comes to McCree. We have our own containment protocols should something happen and would rather you flee up the stairs than assist us. You will not leave the corner or interact nonverbally with anyone in the room. You can look but do not distract. Is that all clear?”

Jack smiled fondly at that. “Of course. It’s nice to know you guys have a rigid system in place to handle McCree’s recovery. Has he tried escaping or biting anyone while you tended to him?” He asked curiously.

“No. So long as McCree is given a tranquilizer dart and ten minutes to adjust to that he’s very docile.” Gabriel answered. “He’s been progressing with the quiet and comfortable environment we’ve been providing him. We’re hoping we’ll be able to slowly reduce the potency of the tranquilizers to see if he’s really coming back together or if it’s purely the drugs that make him cooperative.”

Jack nodded his head. “Alright. Sorry to keep you guys occupied for so long, let me know when I can come downstairs.”

“Thank you for being understanding, Mr. Morrison.” Genji smiled before taking the dart kit from one of the servants holding it out for him along with the key to the basement from his pocket to unlock the door.

Genji took a lantern from another servant on standby after tucking the key back into his pocket and opened up the door, heading down with Gabriel as Jack stayed upstairs with the servants. Gabriel lit the candles along the walls as they descended, rousing McCree from his slumber as he clicked the flints together to light them. Genji waited at the bottom of the steps for Gabriel and watched him tuck the flints away into his coat pocket specifically meant for the things. 

“Mnnh.” 

“‘Mnnh’ to you too, McCree. Have a nice nap?” Gabriel softly chuckled as Genji walked around to light the lanterns hanging from the ceiling while Gabriel pulled the cloth cover upwards to see the bright eyed vampire waiting for him. 

Good, he was calm and sporting a small smile on his face, possibly happy to see him or just happy to get a meal? Gabriel began walking around the cage and rolled the other sheets up so he could get a good look at the state of the cage. The bucket was filled with piss and shit so that was always a plus in Gabe’s book. McCree looked rather well as he followed Gabriel’s movements with his head around the cage from the comfort of his fluffy cot, the sheet used to keep him warm laying over his lap with no stains of any kind.

“Mnnh!”

Gabriel felt himself smile as McCree vocalized pleasantly again and stood back up fully to put his hands on his hips. “Not bad at all, McCree. You did a good job keeping your cage clean, from what I can see.”

McCree grunted as Genji shot him with the dart in the back but otherwise didn’t acknowledge anymore discomfort like trying to pull it out or anything. Genji was too good with his aim anyways so that McCree wouldn’t be able to pull it out. 

“Alright. Why don’t you tell me about how well you slept last night?” Gabriel spoke as he took a seat down next to the cage while Genji finished prepping the lighting in the room before heading back upstairs so it was just Gabriel and McCree for the next ten minutes as the drugs did their work.

McCree’s hand hesitantly reached out through the bottom of the bars instead of him mumbling softly to Gabriel. His eyes were showing a mix of curiosity and anxiety so Gabriel simply stood still, wanting to encourage McCree to interact with him in whatever ways he wanted that were not violent in nature. 

“I had a dream last night, McCree. Two teenagers out late after dark, their fingers threading together as they sat together on a bench in the middle of the park…”

McCree looked up at Gabriel and hopefully was listening to him as he gently rested his hand on Gabriel’s knee to hold the fabric of his trousers lightly.

“You have a strange way of talking from what I remembered. ‘Don’t be so ‘fraid of such a lovely night like this, Hanzo.’” Gabriel impersonated the southern drawl the best he could and watched as McCree’s mouth soundlessly mimicked the words as he said them. 

Gabriel’s eyes widened at that and McCree flinched at his expression as he drew his hand away from Gabe’s knee back into the cage. 

Fear.

Gabriel had to calm down. He couldn’t make such a big deal about something that kind of WAS a big deal without making the meek vampire next to him withdraw from him. This was the biggest leap forward Gabriel had seen all week but he needed to keep it cool for McCree’s sakes.

“It’s okay, McCree. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m actually really proud of you for wanting to connect with me.” Gabriel smiled reassuringly, trying not to sound condescending as he spoke. “It makes me happy to know that you want to get to know me. I don’t exactly have a lot of friends right now, never did but that’s not the point.” He chuckled in amusement. “There’s a lot of people who want to be your friend as well. Maybe you remember them?”

McCree stared at Gabriel, his knees tucked to his chest as he rest his chin on them while he listened to him speak. He slowly started to lean back against the bars of the cage, the tranquilizer finally starting to visibly work its magic as Gabriel experimentally reached his hand through the bar and brush his fingertips against the back of McCree’s hand that rested against the bars at the bottom of the cage. Gabe’s eyes watched McCree closely for any signs of tension as his eyes slowly gazed down at his hand being touched.

“Mnnh…” 

“You want me to stop?”

He wasn’t moving his fingertip against the back of McCree’s hand but asked him anyways as he started hearing soft footsteps coming down the stairs. McCree’s eyelids grew heavier and he made no attempt to shake his head to answer or draw his hand away but Gabriel pulled his hand from the cage anyways. He rose back to his feet and watched as Genji and Jack came down the steps. Jack walked over to the corner Genji pointed him to and leaned back against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest casually.

Genji then stepped over to the cage door with Gabriel and unlocked it, stepping away as Gabriel opened the door and headed inside. He could feel the tension rolling off Jack from the center of the room where the cage was and ignored him as he gently scooped the sedated McCree into his arms before leaving the cage. Gabriel carried him a few feet away from the cage where an old loveseat sat in the corner, brought in on day three when sitting on a crate was causing him more discomfort than he wanted. The servants then got to work on cleaning the cage out by stripping down the linens and replacing them along with the bucket.

Gabriel sighed as he sat down on the old loveseat and adjusted McCree as he slipped off his coat onto the couch. He then repositioned the feral so he was partially straddling him, keeping one hand on McCree’s back to steady him while Genji approached silently with one of his knives and slit Gabriel’s shoulder a bit. He backed off when McCree raised his head to the scent of blood and Gabriel used his other hand to guide McCree’s head to his shoulder for the vampire to do what was natural for their kind. 

Or at least should be.

“Ow, ow, ow! Just one bite is all you need, McCree!” Gabriel hissed in annoyance as McCree FINALLY punctured his shoulder to feed on him. He shot a glare at Jack as the man predictably covered the lower half of his face with his hand to keep himself from snickering at his misfortune. Figures the guy didn’t grow up after all of these year-

McCree suddenly withdrew his fangs from Gabriel’s shoulder and turned his head to shoot a nasty glare towards Jack, making Genji’s hand immediately hover over his knives as the three of them tensed up. Gabriel reached up carefully, swallowing any anxiety he had about the situation as he pulled McCree closer to him, drawing the vampire’s attention back to him.

“Stop. Jack is not a threat and you don’t have to stare him down just because he made me very annoyed.” Gabriel explained firmly to McCree, keeping a firm hand on his waist. 

McCree furrowed his brows together, confused as he looked at Gabriel. The most worrying thing right now was how awake McCree was when he should still be under the effects of the tranquilizer that would knock a horse off its feet. Gabriel glanced at the corner where Jack was and found it empty, him likely departing to head upstairs while the servants continued to do their work like nothing was really wrong. He had the situation contained and McCree, while slowly starting to feel the adrenaline spike wear off really quick against the tranquilizer’s effects, started sagging more heavily against Gabriel.

“Eat your breakfast now, McCree, and don’t let anything else distract you, alright? You and I are safe.” Gabriel reassured McCree as he guided the vampire’s head back to his shoulder and felt him latch back on to where he was originally drinking from. Sharp pain from the teeth digging back into the wounds quickly dissipated as McCree relaxed and began to drink. 

Gabriel sighed as he thumped his head back against the couch cushion and gently patted McCree on the back. What a handful this guy was going to be the more Gabriel learned what exactly being a master vampire meant. Could Jesse have sensed he was annoyed with Jack and saw it as a threat? That would be annoying to deal with but it was all for the greater good to get him back on his feet and living with those who loved him dearly, He wasn’t a savage animal and it was clear he was slowly getting his humanity back. 

Patience was the key. Patience and his own ability to control his emotions if McCree was going to feed off of them.

\--

“What happened downstairs?!” Hanzo immediately yelled as Gabriel and Genji enter the dining area where Jack is already seated, likely telling Hanzo about the whole thing after he left the basement.

Gabriel and Genji pulled out their chairs next to each other as Gabe looked at Jack curiously, watching him shrug his shoulders subtly while Hanzo wasn’t focused on him. Ah. A possible overreaction than Jack intentionally trying to toss them both under the bus, if he was reading Jack’s body language correctly.

“Jesse responded to Gabriel taking offense to Mr. Morrison’s body language by glaring at Mr. Morrison. Nothing escalated and Gabriel explained why he didn’t want Jesse to react like that again to Jesse as well.” Genji summed up casually as they all started eating breakfast, minus Hanzo, who just narrowed his eyes at Gabriel suspiciously. “Seriously, Brother, he handled it well and Jesse calmed down right after he told him to stop.” He insisted after Hanzo still refused to let up on Gabriel.

“That’s the problem. Jesse McCree NEVER stops when he thinks something is worth responding to that seriously.” Hanzo slammed his fist firmly on the table, rattling the plates and silverware as breakfast quickly grinded to a halt. “What have you DONE to him?!”

“Brother, this is ridiculous! Jesse is running on instinct right now and slowly returning to himself! You can’t just assume Gabriel is manipulating him! Even he was surprised by Jesse’s sudden reaction!” 

“I agree.” Jack said. “It’s too early to assume any manipulation of his personality is happening considering how turning ruined him entirely in the first place.”

“Turning feral, right?” Gabriel asked for clarification’s sake considering he was turned too.

“Regardless, Gabriel, you’re not at fault for how McCree reacted when you have no idea how a vampire becomes a master and are just trying to work with him the best you can.” Jack answered.

“I firmly agree with him, Hanzo.” Genji contributed.

Hanzo slowly took a deep breath and relaxed back in his seat, removing his hand from the table to pick up his utensils. “Yes, it’s too early judge. My apologies for lashing out.” 

Gabriel felt bad for him, especially with all the memories he was getting from McCree painting him as a stubborn but pleasant man to be around when he wasn’t under a huge amount of stress like he was now. It made sense he was worried if there was emotional tampering on his part but wasn’t it kind of part of him becoming a servant for Gabriel? Reacting when he thinks his master is perceiving a threat and Gabriel needing to clarify what is and isn’t one? 

“If you’re worried that I’ll take McCree away when he’s returned to form, you don’t have to worry. I have no intention of taking him with me since I work solo. Two vampires will just attract unwanted attention anyways.” Gabriel tried to reassure Hanzo but the man only slowly shook his head in response.

“I should not be questioning your motives considering we were the ones that brought you in. Please, let us drop the topic for now and enjoy our meal.” Hanzo insisted politely.

He really didn’t want a partner, much less someone he was pretty much forced to like him to become his partner. It made him sick to just think about it. He’d killed so many of those monsters for making slave armies and what not but here he was trying to keep McCree at a distance so he could detach himself to go back out alone. 

Gabriel felt lonely thinking about going back out, especially since Jack wouldn’t be with him. He would solve the Shimada’s problems and walk away with nothing once more. Maybe he’ll feel good about what he’s done but that doesn’t exactly replace what he was getting now from the Shimadas, even if only temporary. He appreciated Genji’s companionship and having meals with the two brothers, a warm bed to sleep in and the security of knowing no one would cut his throat in the middle of the night.

He finished his meal and excused himself so he could bathe and get changed around for the day.


	4. The kind of master I want to be

The memory he got in the bath tub was one that really tugged hard on Gabriel’s heartstrings. It was the one where McCree got bitten by the feral that did him in. He was viewing it from McCree’s perspective, every moment and detail in vivid color. It made Gabriel’s skin crawl as he felt the feral tear into McCree, an ambush on the side of the road. There were no heroics involved, no screaming children pleading for help or anything, just a sudden flash of pain when he was knocked over and bitten. He was taken down so easily when the three of them were approaching a town to resupply.

Hanzo’s furious screams, Genji’s knife impaling into the side of the feral’s head before it fell over limp on McCree’s chest. The worst part was that it wasn’t over. No fading to black as the world gave out or anything poetic, just Hanzo carrying him as they ran to the town. 

‘It’s going to be okay, Jesse! You’ll be fine!’ Hanzo muttered over and over, more for himself than for McCree at some point before they got a room at an inn and called the local doctor in to help him.

Of course there’s no cure for a feral’s bite but he summoned a doctor nonetheless to patch him up while Genji started writing to their father. McCree was awake for all of it, including the pain of slowly losing his mind and body to the worst form of vampirism.

Gabriel lost consciousness after he was bitten, severe blood loss ended his life before he rose again in Jack’s arms.

He had to get out of the bath sooner than he wanted to end the memories and emotions McCree felt from that horrible ordeal. Trying not to vomit as he laid down on one of the rugs in the bathroom, a bathrobe and towel wrapped around him for warmth when he felt so cold.

\--

“I’m so sorry.” Gabriel spoke quietly after Genji left the basement for the lunch time feedings to give McCree’s tranquilizer time to take affect. McCree’s eyes looked at him curiously as Gabriel sat down next to his cage and he rested his head against the bars. He felt like total shit for pushing away McCree’s memories from earlier, knowing for a fact that McCree likely wasn’t picking and choosing what memories Gabriel received but it still made him feel like shit anyways.

“Mnnh?”

“I’m just… I want to help you, McCree. I’m not looking for a follower, disciple, or slave, I just want you back on your feet and living your life you were before you got bitten.” He admitted with a heavy sigh. “Hanzo thinks I’m going to try to take you away when that’s the polar opposite of what I want. You have and always will have a place here with the Shimadas. Don’t go thinking that you owe me jackshit for this because I’m honestly doing it out of the good of my heart. I certainly wouldn’t tell you that if you could speak but it’s honestly how I feel. Please don’t get attached to me, is all I’m saying.”

McCree was silent where he would other wise vocalize in response to Gabriel speaking. Instead, Gabriel heard some shifting from the cage and felt something lightly hit the bars he was leaning his head against. McCree was resting the side of his head against it as well now, possibly showing solidarity with him? Affection? Just mimicking him?

Gabriel sighed heavily and saw McCree’s hand resting against the bottom of the bars when he glanced down. He reached down slowly and gently touched the back of his hand with his fingertips. 

“You’re going to be okay, McCree. You’ll pull through this and get your life back, I promise. It’s what any decent person would do if they had powers like mine.”

\--

Jack ended up leaving before dinner, their goodbyes brief and to the point. No real warmth between them left Gabriel feeling the splinter Jack left in his heart. He went into the basement feeling numb, following Genji as his mind was clearly elsewhere than here. 

Gabriel was goddamn pathetic for hoping Jack would see reason and come back to him.

“Ge...h…!” 

Genji and Gabriel paused at the bottom of the steps at the strangled noise that was coming from McCree’s covered cage. They rushed over, Genji holding the lantern up as Gabe pulled up one of the sheets over the cage to see Jesse looking up at Gabriel on his cot, hands reaching for Gabriel. There were tears in the corners of his eyes and snot running down his nose as he continued to reach for Gabriel.

“Guh…! Mnh!”

He was frustrated. Words trapped in his throat, unable to speak them like he wanted. 

Gabriel got down on his knees and reached forward, holding McCree’s hands in his own as he looked at McCree sympathetically. 

“It’s okay, McCree. What’s wrong?”

He quivered hard, squeezing Gabriel’s hands gently as he looked at him with pleading eyes. Genji had his free hand on one of the knives on his belt reflexively since McCree wasn’t tranquilized yet but he didn’t move to interfere, just continued holding the lantern over the cage to illuminate McCree.

“Okay. Let me try to guess. Did something scare you?” Gabriel asked calmly.  
McCree shook his head, still holding onto Gabe’s hands like they were his anchors.

“Did someone come down here?”

McCree shook his head once more.

Okay. so, nothing spooked him and no one was down here to throw him off so…

…

“Does it involve Jack?” He asked quietly and McCree nodded his head slowly.

Gabriel could feel Genji’s eyes on him but didn’t bother to clarify when McCree was the one troubled by feelings that weren’t even his own.

Fuck. 

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he gently rubbed the back of McCree’s hands with his thumbs. “Yeah… I’m upset that Jack and I parted on less than stellar terms again, McCree, but it’s okay to ignore the feelings you feel from me. They’re invasive and I can’t apologize enough for putting more stress onto you when you’re trying to get better. I’m a pretty terrible master if I’m making you suffer as well.” He chuckled pathetically.

“Guh… Ah…”

Gabriel looked down at the stone floor as he pressed his head forward against their held hands. He really had changed, like Jack said he did. He couldn’t keep his feelings under control anymore, took less risky jobs than he used to, was more concerned with how others felt than getting the job done by the book… The list goes on and on with what changed in him when he reawakened as a vampire, more aware of his human faults and wanted to make amends for his cold behavior in the past.

Being more caring just pushed the one he loved away.

More so than being a vampire.

“Gabe.”

McCree said his name but it didn’t feel like a happy first-time thing with how tortured he sounded when saying it. The feeling of McCree’s finger tips touching his hair, barely brushing it as his own hands limited what McCree’s could do as he held them. 

God. He was a mess.

Crying openly with McCree now as he thought about Jack and how much of a fucking idiot he was.

He should have told Jack he loved him more when he was a human. Been more outwardly affectionate instead of letting Jack initiate everything. Should have kissed him more…

“Gabe.”

McCree was sniffing even harder, pressed his forehead against the bars, wanting so badly to connect with someone.

“Please open the cage, Genji. I think we can go without the tranquilizer for right now. Standby just in case.”

Genji nodded his head and Gabriel released McCree’s hands. He moved to the front of the cage door, still on the ground as Genji unlocked the door and backed up. McCree gingerly pushed open the door, still on his knees as well before getting up sluggishly, stepping through the door and into Gabriel’s arms.

“Gabe!”

“Yeah. That’s my name, Jesse McCree. Never told you it, did I? I’m sorry for being an asshole.” He chuckled softly before sniffing harshly as he held McCree while the other man buried his face into his shoulder, them both trembling in each other’s arms. “My name is ‘Gabriel Reyes’ and I’m here to help you in whatever way I can. It’s nice to meet you, Jesse McCree.”

They stood like that for awhile. Gabriel glanced over at Genji leaning against the cage, the man’s heart on his sleeves as tears rolled down his own cheeks as he watched them, his best friend now visibly making progress and becoming human again. It had to have been an enormous amount of self-control to not give into the joy of seeing your friend coming back and keeping to his duty. Gabe would have done that once but not anymore. He wasn’t going to hide behind a wall of cold indifference to anybody anymore. No more regrets or ‘what-ifs’.

“Come on, McCree.” Gabriel gently patted the vampire’s back as he finally spoke. “We need to move to the couch together so we can get you some breakfast. You think you can walk?”

“Mmn…” He shook his head against Gabriel’s shoulder and was scooped into his arms.

“That’s fine. I’ll shoulder you until you think you’re ready, McCree. No rush at all.” Gabriel reassured him as he began heading over to the couch in the corner. It was a risk to not tranquilize him before starting the day but McCree didn’t want to move and stayed put the whole time when the servants came down to help clean out the cage.

McCree swiftly dug his teeth into the flesh connecting his neck and shoulder together without any guidance this time. No real pain either after he pushed Gabe’s coat aside on his shoulders and began feeding off him. It was nice to not have to deal with the sloppy nipping and the like for once but there was the reality it might just happen anyways if they had to tranquilize him for the afternoon feedings. It was a huge risk not doing it but Gabriel had to start somewhere with beginning to trust his student.

‘Student’.

Yeah, that sounds a lot better in his mind. Be a mentor to McCree rather than his owner. A pupil will eventually leave his master and become one on his own; the master of himself.

That was the kind of ‘master’ he wanted to be to McCree.


	5. With my head back on my body

“That’s fantastic!” 

Hanzo was positively beaming as Gabriel gave his recount of the morning feeding to him while they all ate a hearty breakfast together at the table. Genji was grinning ear from ear towards Gabriel at Hanzo’s reaction to the story, absolutely giddy as well for how McCree was coming around, even if the first word he said was Gabriel’s own name. Even the servants were looking at one another happily at the news.

“It is remarkable that he is still able to empathize with someone else, even after- No, ESPECIALLY after his ordeal with becoming feral! Though I was skeptical of you choosing not to sedate him, I’m still grateful for what you have done so far with him.” Genji voiced.

Gabriel smiled at the praise and nodded his head in acknowledgment of it. “Thank you. Depending on how he is this afternoon, we’ll consider tranquilizing him with a lower dosage, if he is calm and responsive. Out of curiousity, do you happen to have family pictures with you, Hanzo? I was thinking of seeing if he will recognize anyone or can name anyone in a photograph to see how his memory is coming around.” He asked as he picked up his chopstick to begin eating the Japanese-styled breakfast that was served to them.

Genji blinked at that request as he held a small bowl filled with white rice in his hand and chopsticks in the other as he looked over at Hanzo curiously as well. Hanzo hummed as he set down his ceramic cup filled with hot tea and thought about it.

“I am not sure. Most of our photos and family heirlooms would be at our main house with our father. He never used this house much but continued to own it because it was close to one of the guild’s branches and rather bring it back up to standard if he had to visit the branch rather than trouble some other noble who lived nearby.” Hanzo clarified.

“Ah. So, these are not your personal servants?” Gabriel asked curiously as he took a drink from his wine glass with fresh blood.

Hanzo and Genji shook their heads but it was Hanzo that spoke. “No. Genji, Jesse, and I travel far too much to consider taking servants with us. We take our jobs as we visit town after village to see what ails them since commissioning the guild to send hunters can be quite expensive. I image you primarily take jobs through the guild, do you not?”

“Yeah. Not a lot of people are happy about seeing a vampire show up at the local inn late at night, hunter or not.” Gabriel shrugged his shoulders before getting started on his grilled fish.

Hanzo pursed his lips together in disgust  
“Most unfortunate but it is the reality of the world that it is safer to assume a vampire has bad intentions than not.”

“Wait. Even after you save villages and towns on behalf of the guild, they still distrust you, Gabriel?” Genji asked curiously before taking a sip from his tea.

“Some places are better than others and I do sometimes get requests to handle cases in places that I’ve helped out before but that’s rare in itself. I’m always more than grateful to help out anyone who comes to me for help on the road and such if i am just traveling between towns.”

“Jesse would be so pissed if he heard the way you were treated.” Genji remarked in amusement. “He’s punched out a few village idiots for having the gall to try to short change us because Hanzo and I are foreigners.”

“Genji, don’t act like us getting barred from several villages for Jesse’s hot-headed nature was heroic.” Hanzo stated simply as he picked up a clump of rice with his chopsticks and ate it. “Regardless, I will see if we can have some less valuable pictures sent over by carrier ravens but I cannot promise anything, unfortunately.”

“Thank you, Hanzo.”

“It is no problem, Gabriel. I will assist you wherever possible in this.”

\--

A parcel full of pictures came in two weeks later, hand delivered by a Shimada courier. They allowed the man to recuperate in the guest wing on the lower floors while McCree was relocated upstairs, sleeping in the room next to Gabe’s with an outside lock on it, and a wooden bar on the door. 

McCree could speak freely now but still had some major anxiety issues that Gabriel was trying to smooth over. Hanzo was now permitted to be in the room with him for an hour at a time as long as both Genji and Gabriel were there to oversee the interaction. They took him off tranquilizers completely a week after he first spoke Gabriel’s name but Genji always kept the dart kit on him in case a relapse were to happen. 

Hanzo and McCree sat on the four post bed, both looking over pictures together from the massive parcel Ryuu Shimada sent them along with a few personal letters from the clan leader to Jesse that Hanzo promised to read him later. McCree was anything but happy with that but didn’t really fight back like the brothers thought he would.

Genji and Gabriel sat at the small table they set up to the side, watching the two talk and reminisce, mostly Hanzo since McCree was rather spotty with details he thinks he remembers. It was kind of endearing to see Hanzo smile as he talks McCree through a certain memory the picture reminds him of or recounting the actual memory of the photograph itself.

“So, you are planning on taking a mission nearby from the guild, Gabriel?” Genji whispered to him and Gabriel nodded his head.

“Yeah, just something small. Local vampire coven wants to seek advice on how to work with the humans to weed out violent vampires so there can be possible talks on allowing the vampires to integrate.”

“Oh. That sounds rather exciting.” 

“Not really, if either side’s expectations are too high for the other then the talks just stop. I’ve rarely been able to negotiate successfully on the behalf of the vampires since no one ever trusts a vampire, even one that is a hunter.” He sighed as he rested his elbow on the table to prop up the side of his face.

“Mmm. You think Jesse will be alright with you leaving?”

“I talked to him about it and he seems like he’s okay with the idea. A little skittish but that’s just how he is with anything.”

At that moment, McCree glanced over at them. He looked significantly better than when they both met on day one; hair brushed and tied back into a tiny ponytail in the back, healthier looking skin (if a bit pale like a normal vampire should be), dressed in a nice outfit with a fancy vest on, and full of affection for those that missed him. The guy was recovering well enough that his southern drawl was starting to show its colors back into his mannerism and speech when he was really relaxed. It would be a good time to start weening him off expecting Gabriel to be around and transition him back to the Shimadas.

Gabriel smiled at him reassuringly and gestured with his hand for him to focus back on Hanzo by pointing to him. McCree slowly nodded his head before turning his red eyes back to Hanzo to re-engage in conversation with him.

He just had to be patient with McCree and let him become independent by praising him when he acted without asking Gabriel permission on a task he wanted to carry out. They were also taking blood from Gabriel daily and mixing it with animal’s blood to see if they could wean him off being dependant on Gabriel for blood. So far that was working decently when they had lunch together with McCree downstairs in the dining room while the other times he would be feeding directly off Gabriel himself in the privacy of McCree’s room.

“Remember this picture, Jesse?” Hanzo snorted in amusement as he held up a sepia colored picture of the trio as children in yukatas near a pond, standing beside an older man with long dark hair, likely Ryuu Shimada, holding a large, white koi in his hands. The two black haired children were suppressing their laughter at the lighter haired child between them that was clutching his yukata with tears in his eyes.

McCree groaned as he covered his face with his hand. “Why’d yer pa have to send that damned photo too?!”

“Oh?! Is it the picture father took after Jesse fell into the koi pond and killed his prized koi with his ass?!” Genji shot up, laughing as Hanzo tried to suppress his amusement by pressing his lips together, and the younger brother climbed on the bed to sit between them as Hanzo handed the picture to him. He was laughing so hard as he keeled over, clutching his stomach with one arm as McCree tried to bury his face in his hands.

“Fer the love of all that’s holy, Shimada-san…!” McCree sighed heavily as Genji continued to laugh himself to tears while slapping his leg numerous times.

Gabriel felt himself smile warmly at the sight before him but had an inkling in his mind that he was trespassing, a voyeur in the room. He got up and left the room, assuming that Genji and Hanzon would be fine without him as the recollected their memories with McCree. It’s what any decent person would do, he told himself.

He instead wandered the halls, his mind wandering to the future and what he was going to do when the Shimadas felt his assistance was no longer required. McCree would sense he felt troubled if he allowed himself to feel any sense of loss or anything very obvious, honestly. He was very sensitive to Gabriel’s emotions even if McCree was doing a better job of pretending like he wasn’t noticing anything. Gabe appreciated that Jesse was starting to tone it down on the questions and instead just looking at him to see if he needed something or not.

Gabriel leaned against the railing that overlooked the spiraling staircase and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. The door creaked open behind him and he turned his head to see McCree poking his head out, looking rather ashamed that he got caught instantly. Inside the room, Gabe could hear the laughter of the two brothers and McCree glanced away for a moment, hesitating on what he should do.

“Answer’s pretty easy with this one, McCree.” Was all Gabriel said, implying that he should go back into the room with the Shimadas but the idiot opened up the door to slip out and closed it quietly behind himself. Gabe sighed as ran a hand over his face while McCree stepped over to the railing and leaned forward on it beside him.

“I know, but Hanzo said it was okay if I went an’ checked on ya, Gabe.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes at that. Figures Hanzo couldn’t say ‘no’ to McCree’s request even when they were trying to work on his separation anxiety.

“It’s not going to make it any easier when I’m a few miles away tomorrow, McCree. You might not be able to check on me since the Shimadas are going to be retraining you for the hunts.”

McCree’s hands gripped the wooden railing hard enough to make it groan while his face struggled to stay calm. 

Fuck.

“I didn’t mean to- You’re going to be okay, McCree. I’M going to be okay.” Gabriel gently emphasised as he spoke to him sincerely, remembering to stay calm himself. “I’m just going to talk to some locals and-”

“You’re gonna to call fer me the moment trouble turns up, Gabe.” McCree suddenly interrupted, putting his hand over Gabriel’s as he looked at him with firm conviction in his eyes. “I mean it.”

Gabriel paused and quirked a brow at McCree’s odd request.

“By raven or something? That’s asking for a lot if I’m in the middle of a fight, McCree.”

“What?! No! You’ll summon me to the fight!”

Gabriel stared at him as if he grew another head.

“I honestly don’t know where to begin with this.” 

McCree sighed as he brought a hand to the back of his neck to rub at it. “I’ve seen master vampires do it before. Can’t ya do it, Gabe?”

“That sounds a lot like magic, McCree. I’m no sorcerer and have only been a vampire for two years myself. So, I have no idea if it’s possible to summon you.”

McCree frowned at that and quickly pushed himself off the railing. “I’ll be right back, Gabe. Don’t move an inch!” He opened the door back up to go into his room and closed it behind him. 

Gabriel rolled his eyes again and rubbed his temples between two fingers. ‘Trouble maker’ he was indeed. He looked up when the door opened again and McCree motioned for him to come in with his hand. Gabriel begrudgingly followed and closed the door behind him as McCree climbed back onto the bed again to sit by Hanzo. He went back over to the table he was sitting at before and plopped back down at his seat.

“Jesse has brought it to my attention that you did not know that master vampires can summon their slaves?” Hanzo spoke curiously as the three of them on the bed looked at Gabriel. “None of the vampires you encountered in yours hunts were capable of doing such things?”

“No, I mostly wander around the southwest region and there aren’t many count-class vampires in that area.”

“They don’t have to be a count-class vampire in order to use summoning magic, Gabriel.” Genji spoke up.

“That’s besides the point then. I’ve never met a master vampire who did a summoning of a slave during my hunts. Not to my knowledge at least.” 

Hanzo then paused before looking at McCree. “Why do you want him to be able to summon you anyways, Jesse? He will only be gone a day or so.”

McCree tensed up under the question and Gabriel figured it didn’t need an answer at this point.

“Hey, now! Regardless of my own issues at the moment, It’s critical that Gabe have backup when he needs it anyways so why not figure out how to teach him to do it?” McCree countered.

“Pressuring Gabriel to bring you along will not help your anxiety, Jesse.” Genji calmly spoke as he placed a sympathetic hand on McCree’s shoulder. 

McCree tensed up from the touch, still not used to physical contact that was not initiated by him. Genji retracted his hand, a bit hurt from McCree’s reaction but was understanding that the lingering effects of feralism had made McCree very sensitive to physical contact. He had no such reactions to when Gabriel touched his shoulder or the back of his hand, oddly enough.

“I’m not pressuring him though. He just don’t gotta feel like he ain’t got no one at his back since Jack won’t buddy back on up with ‘im.”

“I thought I told you to stop spouting your mouth off like that.” Gabriel growled in annoyance.

“Can it, Gabe. Just cause you won’t say shit doesn’t mean I gotta when it could say yer life.”

Genji smirked in amusement. “And people say I was the disobedient one.”

“Also, yer the one sending me yer memories! I ain’t the one crying out for help here!” McCree countered once more.

“For the last time, McCree, I have no control over our memory transfers whatsoever!”

“Then why don’t you go ASK someone then!”

“Because I can’t walk outside my room without you breathing down the back of my neck, McCree!”

“Yer supposed to be watching me so I don’t go loco on Hanzo and Genji! But, nah, I get it! Ya gotta go brood sometimes, right? Act like we’re gonna kick yer ass out on the road the moment I’m one hundred percent!” McCree spat harshly.

“I’m going out, Hanzo.” Gabriel got out of his chair and moved as fast as he could without running to get to the door, hand on the collar of his button shirt to pull it away from his throat as his own anxiety was building up too quickly from that bit that Jesse threw at him.

It was night time so maybe some fresh air would help him not strangle the shit out of his filterless pupil and get his anger under control. Gabriel ended up shutting the door on someone (five guesses who) but didn’t even bother to turn around or apologize as he quickly went down the steps and heard loud arguing coming from McCree’s room. He didn’t give ten shits, maybe they would actually scold their friend rather than expecting Gabriel to act like mister asshole master all the time to keep him in line.

He pushed open the door to step out into the cool night air and quickly dug out his cigars from his pocket, snipping off the tip before lighting it with his lighter in quick succession. Gabriel needed to walk and smoke to get his mind off of everything. Luckily the mansion was pretty huge and the garden was one of his ‘go-to’ relaxation spots when he needed to get away from McCree to breath. To not have his inner thoughts blindly spouted out by an idiot just because he doesn’t want to cooperate with him.

So, what if McCree was right? It wasn’t going to do anything but put unnecessary pressure on the Shimadas to do something that might not be what they want. Gabriel wasn’t going to be anyone’s burden nor anyone’s pitiful add-on. One vampire was hard enough on humans much less two and he was going to prove that he didn’t need back up at all tomorrow as he slipped away into the tiny maze in the back of the garden.

He had to keep his mind focused on finding McCree a bother as he sat down in the grass and propped his back against one of the well-cared for brush walls or McCree might just get the idea that he wants him around. The complete opposite of what he needs now as he chews idly on the cigar in his mouth. The cigar smoke helps calm him along with the coolness of the air on the wind as winter slowly approached. It’ll be nice to get away from the mansion for a bit and let more than just let the local kids ride his horse during the day for once.

He blew out a plum of smoke from his lips and sighed. 

Tomorrow was another day.


	6. going smoothly

“Please don’t go without me, Gabe.”

Gabriel had to steel himself as he took a deep breath through his nose as McCree stood pathetically outside of his door after they had dinner, his horse saddled up and ready to go as he got changed around. 

His eyes were glued on the floor in shame as he actually had the gall to plead with him after all that shit he mouthed off yesterday. McCree was very aware how pathetic he looked but pride be damned, he guessed.

Gabriel closed the door to his room and locked it up with his key before tucking it into his pocket. Only then did he turn his attention fully to McCree.

“We’ve been over this many times, McCree. I’m just going to talk to a coven and-”

“What if someone attacks you on your way to the coven, Gabe?” Jesse asked quietly, hands clutching the parts of his own shoulders that got torn apart when the feral ambushed him on the road and Gabriel had to bite the inside of his cheek.

Low blow. He knows for a fact that Gabriel got that memory and he’s thinks he can-?

“I’m a vampire and your master, McCree.” Gabriel spoke confidently, making McCree look up with the authoritative tone he was using. “Stop trying to manipulate me.”

“I just want to be by you.” 

“You can’t leave the guest wing without an escort, McCree, I can’t take you with even if I wanted to. I promise I will take you with next time if you recover well enough that Hanzo allows you to go. You have a lot of rehabilitation to go through still.”

“I-I know. I just want you safe…”

Gabriel paused then, warmth stirring in his chest from that confession. He raised a hand and gently placed it on McCree’s shoulder. “Now I have to be if you’re the one weaving curses like that, McCree.”

McCree weakly smiled as he brought a hand up to cover the top of Gabriel’s on his shoulder.

“I’m holdin’ ya to that, Gabe.”

Gabriel smiled back at him before removing his hand from McCree’s shoulder. “Get some rest now, alright? Got to get that legendary aim of yours back, right?”

McCree finally chuckled, relief clearly on his face for once. “Got that right, Partner. Take care, okay?”

“I will, McCree. See you around.”

“See ya, Gabe.”

Gabriel waited for McCree to turn around and enter his room, making sure he closed the door behind him before departing. Hanzo and Genji would be fine and so would McCree.

Gabriel was the master of the night, and all would know he wouldn’t go down without a violent fight.

\--

Gabriel returned to the mansion with little fanfare and a huge headache as he dropped off Hellfire at the stables before heading inside. McCree was on him the moment he closed the door behind him, practically knocking off the travelbag Gabriel was shrugging off his shoulder to embrace him tightly but silently. Gabriel gently dropped his pack on the stone flooring so he could hold McCree as his pupil buried his face into his shoulder. 

It was kind of nice having someone happy to see him and a place to return to after a mission.

McCree’s fingers on his back tightened and Gabriel sighed heavily as he rolled his eyes. “Stop reading my mind, McCree.” He whispered quietly to his pupil, no bite behind it at all.

“Feelin’ is different than readin’, Gabe. Can’t see your memories if I ain’t relaxed.” His muffled voice replied softly.

Neither of them said anything more as Gabriel just let McCree have this moment, knowing he wouldn’t make it a habit if he was going to tear down the stairs at three in the morning to greet him like a dog would. Okay, maybe the dog comparison was a little bit harsh but they were suppose to be working on separation anxiety with him, right?

“You feeling better now?”

“Mnh.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Yes or no, McCree.”

McCree sighed and slowly pulled away from Gabriel. “Yeah. You gonna go upstairs?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Not yet, need to put some stuff I borrowed away before I’ll feel at ease enough to sleep. As for you?”

McCree rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah. I’ll get back to bed.”

“Good. See you in the morning, McCree.”

“See you in the mornin’, Gabe.” McCree yawned as he turned to head back up the stairs while Gabriel picked his bag back up, walked straight forward down the hall to the kitchen to put the gifts he got for everyone away in the pantry, tucking them away enough that he hoped none of the servants would discover it.

Or that McCree will start eating the honey bars he specifically got for him since that was something McCree’s father used to buy for him when he was still alive. A reward for good behavior never hurt anyone.

\--

Hanzo and Genji were definitely not lying about McCree’s aim with a gun being legendary. The more the gunslinger was given time to get reacquainted with his Peacemaker and given the opportunity to use it out in the garden at night on a dummy, the better he got. They even started placing used wine bottles on the maze walls for McCree to fire off at.

“What’s with that dumb smile on your face, McCree.” Gabriel grumbled as he sat back in his chair on the patio with Hanzo, both of them drinking tea as they watch Genji and McCree compete in who could break the most bottles. God, he felt so bad for whoever had to get the glass off the lawn when morning came around from them doing dumbshit while trainning. McCree was flaunting his talent with a six shooter, doing crazy trick shots rather than fucking trainning like he should be.

“What? You ain’t impressed, Gabe?” McCree chuckled in amusement as he looked back at Gabriel while reloading each blank into his pistol since it was too expensive to practice with actual bullets much less enchanted ones for hunting.

Whatever McCree had to gain from showing off was evading Gabriel but Hanzo simply sipped his warm tea and gently pushed Gabriel’s cup closer to him on the table.

“Don’t question it. We order a lot of blanks for a reason.” He smiled in amusement, making the corner of Gabe’s lips rise.

“To deflate that ego of his?” Gabriel pick up his cup and took a sip from it. It was nice to have warm tea before bed, especially when dealing with someone like McCree all hours of the day.

“He finds the joke amusing but it works out in our favor considering his tendency to save the theatrics for practice only.”

“Hey, Gabe! Why don’t you switch from a crossbow to something less cumbersome to reload?” McCree suddenly asked as Genji went to put more bottles up on top of the maze bushes.

“I’d rather my weapon not explode in my face, McCree.” Gabriel answered simply, knowing that McCree was implying he switch to a rifle or something.

“Can’t get much uglier than ya are now though.” McCree snickered, making Gabriel narrow his eyes at McCree in annoyance.

“Fuck off, McCree.”

“Is that an invitation?” McCree winked playfully, making Gabriel bring a hand up to drag down the front of his face.

Ever since he gave McCree the honey bars two weeks ago McCree started getting rather aggressive with his bad pickup lines around him. Why Hanzo didn’t take offense to this and help shut McCree down with him was anything but his guess. Luckily, Gabriel would be leaving to take on a hunt of his own a few towns away from here and give him some space from McCree constantly smothering him with attention.

“No, it’s not. I’m going to bed.” Gabriel spoke after he finished his tea and excused himself from the table to head back inside.

He wasn’t nervous for his first hunt in two months, not at all. It was just going to be a job like any other and issuing a simple ‘cease and desist’ order to the incubus who was plaguing a town. Might not even have to kill the creature if he could convince it to leave peacefully since it wasn’t killing anyone. It just might take awhile to get the info he needed in town and then actually pull the incubus aside when he actually found them out.

Gabriel unlocked the door to his room after climbing the stairs to the guest hall and closed the door behind him as he started undressing.

Not all incubus were bad and malicious, he might have even slept with one or two when he was human to give some injured ones the strength to return to their homes if they got caught out by the night guard. You don’t have to have physical sex with them either, sometimes kissing worked. Hopefully that was the situation he was dealing with; jealous wives complaining to the mayor or something when they caught two men kissing or whatever way the incubus fancied.

Once changed into his nightgown, Gabriel went back to the door and opened it to see McCree holding up his fist just before he was going to knock on it. He chuckled nervously as he slowly lowered his hand and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

McCree always came over to say goodnight before Gabriel went to sleep. He was that predictable at this point.

“Goodnight, Gabe. I’ll see ya in the mornin’?” He asked, voice a bit uncertain for some reason he couldn’t fathom. Might be McCree’s separation anxiety acting up again, he guessed.

“I don’t leave until sundown, so, yeah.” 

“Night then.”

“Goodnight, McCree.” Gabriel watched McCree move off to his room before he shut the door and locked it with the key.

He slept well that night and dreamed of pink cherry blossom petals.

\--

Shit hit the proverbial fan almost instantly the moment Gabriel approached the town on Hellfire and saw huge plumes of black smoke rising into the sky. 

The screaming. 

Oh god the screaming.

Gabriel guided his horse away from the road and into the cover of the forest as he quickly dismounted, Hellfire waiting anxiously as Gabriel used what little mana he had to rouse a raven from its sleep to him. Any hunter worth his salt had the ability to summon a raven so they could send messages. He quickly pulled out a pad of paper and a fountain pen to start writing down his message, the moon providing ample lighting in the darkness.

‘Send McCree. I need back up. -Gabriel’

He jotted down the town’s name before tearing the paper out, rolling it up, and tying it to the hypnotised raven before sending it off with the mental map of the mansion for the bird to use as a guide.

Now he would likely have to wait a day or so until backup arrived. Gabriel wouldn't go in alone. Not anymore. Vampire or not. 

He rose to his feet and took Hellfire by the reins to guide him back to the road before mounting him again. Just because he wouldn't go in didn't mean he wouldn't help the people running out of the town.

“Please-! Please help!” A teenager screamed to Gabriel as he rode over to the boy and quickly dismounted Hellfire. 

The kid’s leg was gnawed off from the ankle down, a rather gruesome sight that Gabriel was too used to seeing as he scooped him up in his arms with ease and carried him over to the side of the road to lay him down against a tree. With the kid propped up, Gabriel got his medical kit from his bag, and went to work, using a minor form of hemomancy to analyse the wound and cauterize it as the kid screamed from the pain. 

His blood was infected but it wasn’t a zombie or a feral vampire bite from the contamination luckily but that didn’t rule out that his efforts would be in vain even if he did stop the bleeding. Gabriel began wrapping up the wound with gauze dipped in ointment and bandaged it up as the kid sobbed heavily, adrenaline no longer keeping the pain at bay as he realized his foot was a stub now. He then took out a small sack and filled it up with grass and leaves before slipping the thing over the wrapped up wound firmly to give the kid padding for walking then securely tied the bag shut around his leg with yarn. 

“Alright, Kid. This is the best I can do for you right now. What’s going on in town?” Gabriel asked calmly as he put his first aid materials back into his kit while the boy swallowed hard on his tears.

“I-I don’t know! I was just sleeping when something bit me hard! My uncle and aunt were fighting the monster before my cousin smashed a window and ran off with me through it! I know my aunt and uncle ran and were behind us! I know they-! Please help them!” The boy pleaded as he looked at Gabriel as he put his kit away into his pack. 

Gabriel frowned at that, and the overwhelming smell of fire and gore he could smell from being this close to the town. “I called in for backup, Kid. One hunter can’t handle this completely by himself.”

“When will they get here?!”

He pressed his lips firmly together. “Maybe seven hours if they ride hard the whol-”

“THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!”

“You’re right, Kid, but, this situation is too big for one hunter to take on alone. I’ll help anyone who comes out of the town and onto the road along with killing anything that tries to run out here but going in alone is suicide.” Gabriel explained as calmly as he could as the kid’s hands bunched up on his trousers, tears streaming down his eyes.

“Aren’t you a hunter?! Isn’t it your job to protect us?!”

“You’re right, but I can’t help anyone if I get hurt here, Kid. Being a vampire makes the hunt that much more dangerous but I promise nothing will hurt you or anyone else I manage to help out here.”

The kid’s eyes widen as Gabriel expected.

“What, did my red eyes and long teeth not give it away?”

“Y-you helped me though! Vampires don’t do that!”

“Vampires don’t usually hunt evil either but I’d like to think I’m going to set a new trend here.” Gabriel sighed. “Listen, Kid. You have my word as a proud hunter of the Nightwatch Guild that no harm will come to you or anyone else I see tonight, okay?”

The kid narrowed his eyes at Gabriel. “I just have trouble believing that, is all.”

“That’s fine. Let my actions do the talking then.” Gabriel answered with ease as he pulled his crossbow off his back and loaded a bolt. The kid tensed as Gabriel stood up and headed back out to the road a short distance away. Hellfire stayed near the boy like he was trained to as Gabriel watched a dark shadow slip out from the entrance of the town and onto the road.

The creature was bipedal and had an overly elongated torso that sway back and forth vertically. The upper half was clearly that of a woman’s while the body half was that of a satyr’s with a whip-like tail. It groaned painfully as it tried walking forward to him; a chimera. The kid gasped in horror as the chimera walked closer to Gabriel but all Gabriel could see was how extremely thin the creature was as it gasped with ragged breaths, reaching out for him.

He stepped forward toward the chimera and put his crossbow onto his back holster, any tension in the creature's body ceased as Gabriel closed the distance and let the woman half of the creature all but collapse against his shoulder while the lengthy midsection folded over since the creature was a good ten feet tall on his six.

“You’re okay.” He whispered reassuringly as he held the chimera, gently running a gloved hand over the chimera’s shaved head while it trembled from both pain and relief, he wasn’t sure which. “Help is on the way.”

There was likely nothing they could do but the woman half was clearly cognitive enough to understand that Gabe wouldn’t hurt her. 

The town was fairly large but he never heard of there being a research laboratory or anything nearby that could possibly create and house chimeras this stable that the guild would not notify him of. Neither was there any mansions or churches that would raise any red flags in Gabriel’s mind about the surrounding area. Was this chimera just a one off one that happened to escape from far away and stumble through the town?

“The… Boy…!” The chimera croaked with a raspy female voice and Gabriel turned to see Hellfire backing away from the boy as the kid’s skin pulsed and inflated. The kid’s throat must had swollen shut at some point because his extremely pale face and eyes rolled into the back of his head denoted death by suffocation since gabriel didn’t hear him scream.

The contamination in his blood…

“Hellfire! Away!” Gabriel ordered quickly, making the horse sprint off into a safer distance since he was trained to stay near victims and protect them until he died. The order allowed the horse to essentially follow its instinct to flee from danger but it’s loyalty to Gabriel never made the horse go too far where it could not charge in and back him up.

His horse was the best gift ever given to him by his grandfather, that’s for damn sure.

Still, it really did suck that the kid died when Gabriel wanted to help save him and even expended the little mana he had left to make it more likely he would survive. But, now he had an idea of what was going on as the kid’s corpse twisted and turned until he was reduced to a bloody mess of animal parts. The chimera buried her face in his shoulder as she sobbed painfully, unable to breath efficiently. Gabriel wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to handle this all as he would have to wait hours for backup to arrive then quarantine the city after someone alerted the guild of this disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I know I update this fic every two to three days but it would be great if you could leave a comment on what you like and dislike about the fic or tell me what can be improved. I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting this fic and it would really make my day if you left a comment. Even just a sentence would be nice!


	7. Come and Go

Gabriel managed to collect three chimeras that stumbled out of the town entrance he was guarding and managed to make it through the night. He gave the other two that passed on their last rites before they faded away. The female chimera was one of the few able to assist him through the night, helping him move the lesser affected child when her porcupine spines sprouted out of the side she was laying on while Gabriel put down one of the more violent chimeras that charged at their little group. 

Hanzo, Jack, and Genji went into the town to start helping those they could or helping to put the suffering out of their misery after Gabriel warned them of the tainted blood while McCree and Gabriel stayed under the protection of the forest outside of the town entrance since it was morning. 

“Nice to meet you, Miss Caroline. The name’s Jesse McCree.” Jesse, heavily wrapped in his dark cloak that he used to block out the sunlight, extended a hand to Gabriel’s chimera assistant. Genji had given her a tonic that helped ease the stress on her lungs and made each breath more efficient so she was able to properly speak softly. Caroline extended a pale, webbed hand to McCree to shake his own as she smiled nervously. “Ain’t no reason to be afraid, Ma’am. Helps finally here and more is on the way.”

“What… kind of… help…?” She asked quietly, resting her long torso against a tree trunk to take a break while Gabriel tended to the chimera child and elderly man. 

McCree sat down next to her, his eyes glancing over at Gabriel as he changed some of the bandages on the man’s palms since he took a hard fall on the road. He then looked back at Caroline with his usual prize-winning smile. “The Nightwatch Guild, of course! Gabe and the rest of us belong to it so you can rest assured that you all will be taken care of and treated fairly.”

Her white eyes looked at him skeptically. “But…”

Jesse nodded his head sympathetically. “I know. But, they accepted two vampires as official hunters on the roster so I don’t see why we would harm unlucky folks like yourselves just cause you got turned into chimeras.”

“But… we’re monsters.”

“Nah. Gabe wouldn’t have let you live much less help him if he thought ya were truly beyond help.” McCree reassured her. “I was a feral vampire and he didn’t give up on me. Don’t count yerself as part of the ‘evil’ label just cause you look different, alright?”

She nodded her head before looking over at Gabriel as he finished up. McCree rose to his feet and brushed off the dirt on his pants before heading over to Gabriel. His master’s eyes were slightly sunken from a mix of exhaustion and mana overuseage.

“Need some blood, Gabe?” 

Gabriel shook his head as he sighed softly. “Just tired and need to take a few tablets. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Jesse smiled at that. “Let me help you out with that then. Have a seat and I’ll get yer pills and canteen. You got water in it still?”

“No. Had to make a few trips to the stream last night to make sure everyone else was good.” Gabriel admitted a little too easily as he brought his palms up to rub his eyes. “Sitting down for a bit sounds good though.”

“I’ll go refill it for ya then. I bet Hellfire needs something to drink anyways.” 

“Alright. Don’t be gone for too long.” Gabriel spoke as he slowly lowered himself to the ground behind the tree Caroline was resting against and folded his arms over his chest like he usually did after setting his crossbow over his lap.

Gabriel was woken up to the sight of dusk setting in and McCree sitting next to him, their shoulders pressed together. He groaned lightly and brought a hand up to rub his face slowly. McCree took notice at that point and handed him his canteen along with three blood tablets. Gabriel popped them into his mouth and quickly rinsed the foul taste down with several long gulps of water before letting out a gasp.

“God. Why did you let me stay out that long, McCree?” Gabriel groaned as he twisted the top back onto his canteen and set it down on the ground next to him.

Hellfire glanced up at him as he grazed nearby and he gave his horse an apologetic smile briefly before looking back over at McCree, mildly annoyed. McCree rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he slowly looked away. 

“You just looked so- I figured you needed the sleep from a rough night, is all.” 

Gabriel stared at him for a good few moments, feeling the blood tablets slowly improving his mood as his body absorbed them. 

“Okay. What did you do all day then while I slept?” Gabriel asked instead.

McCree blinked at him before bringing a hand up to scratch at his beard. “Helped Caroline and Jack with the chimeras they were bringing over that were able to walk and were good-natured. Several hunters have been trickling in so Jack traded jobs with Hanzo so he can keep everyone on the same page about not killing the chimeras and spreading the word about the toxic blood they carry. Genji is weeding out the violent ones and trying to find survivors as well. That’s about everything that happened while you were out.”

Gabriel nodded his head, feeling McCree's hand lightly brush against the back of his gloved hand between them, silently seeking permission. He felt warmth bristle inside of himself, a very calming feeling as he took McCree's hand into his, the other vampire intertwining their fingers gently together. 

“Thanks for keepin’ yer word, Gabe. I know you specifically wanted me but Hanzo and Genji refused to let me go alone plus we ran into Jack along the way when we rode past the guild hall…”

“It’s fine, McCree.” He spoke reassuringly and lightly squeezed his hand in his own. 

“Jesse! Is Gabriel awake yet?” Hanzo yelled over to them and McCree looked over at Gabriel with a smirk.

“I dunno, are ya?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes at that. “I’m up, Hanzo! What do you need?” He called back to the archer.

Hanzo headed over towards them and Gabriel pulled his hand out of Jesse’s grasp, not wanting to cause any problems between the two men. He didn't have the guts to look at Jesse but knew he likely didn't find the sudden retraction of affection between them and quickly pushed aside his conflicted feelings as Hanzo stopped next to him. His eyes assessed him, before he offered Gabriel his hand. One hand on his crossbow and the other firmly in Hanzo's he stood up, groaning as he felt the stiffness in his body from sleeping so long.

The older Shimada chuckled in amusement and released his hold on Gabe’s hand once he was certain Gabriel wouldn't fall over, much to Gabe’s embarrassment. McCree got up with ease as he walked over a few steps to join them.

“What’s the deal, Hanzo?” McCree asked with a good natured chuckle.

“You’re both relieved to head back to the mansion with Genji.” Hanzo answered simply, drawing a frown out of McCree and a disapproving look from Gabriel. He put a hand up to halt the obvious discourse that was about to happen and didn't look too happy as he began explaining. “Of course we need all the help we can get and ample help is on the way as we speak but Jack and I were unsuccessful in persuading both the surviving human population of the town and the hunters coming to assist us. They want you both to leave.”

“That’s total bullshit! They can't just kick Gabriel out for what he did, Hanzo!” McCree protested.

“I only watched the gate, McCree.” Gabriel clarified. “My involvement was minimal.”

“Still ain’t right to toss out help just cause we’re vampires!”

“Unfortunately, it’s their town and we have to abide by their rules if there is no active threat that requires your intervention.“ Hanzo spoke sympathetically.

“Fuckin’ bullshit.” McCree growled bitterly under his breath before stalking away from them to likely get his bags together as Hanzo sighed softly.

“He has a point. Not eloquently put but a point, nonetheless.” Gabriel reaffirmed calmly to Hanzo as the man continued to watch McCree in the distance.

“I know. Jack and I can only do so much to persuade these people. They lost family, friends, and their homes and businesses to the fire and the mutations. Two vampires, even registered as official hunters under the Nightwatch Guild, still leave doubt in the common folk’s hearts if they won’t suddenly bite them when their backs are turned. The transmission routes for vampirism and this taint are similar. They have a right to be fearful of help like that, as unjustified as it is.”

“I get your position, Hanzo. We’ll head back but let us know if you need Genji back.” Gabriel placed a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze before walking off to join McCree in gathering his own stuff, holstering his crossbow on his back.

McCree was in a sour mood for a while as they headed off with Genji on their horses. The moon lit the area with a gentle white light that was well appreciated as Hellfire carried him with ease, completely calm. Genji and McCree rode side by side while Gabriel took point in their formation. The two of them chatted quietly about one topic or another but oddly did not bring Gabe into the conversation, especially since McCree was notorious for making sure Gabe did not feel left out. 

It was a long and emotionally exhausting ride for Gabriel. He wasn't used to being ignored when he was feeling down but it wasn't his place to say anything or interrupt their conversation.

\--

Gabriel ignored McCree’s timid knocking on the door in favor of falling fast asleep the moment he pulled himself under the warm comforters of his own bed. He would live with one evening of Gabriel not saying goodnight to him.

\--

Gabriel woke up feeling an arm over his waist and a firm pressure against the line of his back. McCree softly snoring as Gabriel suddenly remembered why he needed to tell his pupil ‘goodnight’ every night and that he underestimated McCree's needs for reassurance to ward off the clinginess. Gabriel oddly did not mind McCree doing it for once in his life and pressed his head back against the pillow. He could use an extra hour or two of sleep today, it was a long ride, after all.

\--

“I’m sorry about yesterday, Gabe.” McCree apologized as they both rolled out of Gabriel's bed, both of their hair in a disheveled mess from a bad case of bed head. 

“It’s fine, McCree.” Gabriel yawned, still a bit dazed like he always was when waking up. A knock on the door made Gabriel tense up as he was about to remove his nightgown and realized how compromising it was to have McCree in the same room as him, even if they didn't have sex.

“Gabe, is Jesse in there with you?” It was Genji.

Jesse McCree, actually walked over to the door, half-asleep and open it up.

“Need somethin’, Genji?” 

A snicker came from the hunter and Gabriel pressed his forehead against the drawers of his dresser incredulously.

“Anything you haven’t been telling me, Jesse?” Genji teased playfully rather than being outraged that his brother’s boyfriend was literally caught sleeping in Gabriel’s room.

“Hmm?” McCree answer intelligently, leaning heavily against the doorframe as Genji cackled.

“I guess not if you’re still in your nightgown and pants. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes so hurry it up, alright?”

“Yeah. We’ll head down when we’re ready.” McCree yawned lightly, following Genji out into the hall and closing the door behind him, likely going to his room to get changed around.

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he could be relieved that Genji thought it was innocent that they slept together, or insulted.

It actually bothered Gabriel quite a bit how McCree was glued to his back and how much he really didn’t mind it after yesterday’s torturously quiet ride back to the manor. He wasn’t used to being ignored but now McCree was doubling his efforts to get Gabriel interested in whatever he and Genji had planned for the day even though he was going to be part of it anyways. 

Weapon maintenance, close quarters combat training, target practice, and even brushing their horses, Gabriel was willingly dragged along by McCree.

It made Gabriel feel included in the group and it reassured him of his place in the Shimada residence, as temporary as it may be, that it might continue to last a little bit longer.

He honestly didn’t want to leave anymore and that thought alone terrified him quite a bit. It was already a problem that McCree had separation anxiety and fed off his emotions but now that he was well aware of his hesitation to even think about leaving that it was going to break McCree in half when Gabe eventually got the orders to leave.

They were going to get McCree started on blood tablets soon and with that, when McCree was fully independant of his blood, he would be released from his task. Maybe even be sent to help another feral hunter half way across the country where McCree couldn’t follow.

Gabriel’s fists tightened over his knees as he sat alone in his room, brooding, while McCree was helping Genji out with some task or another. He had to get over his feelings for the Shimadas and McCree; this was a job, after all. Emotional attachment was making this hard. He finally felt like he had somewhere to belong after two years of wandering alone. 

McCree’s fingers interlacing with his and the overwhelming sense of relief he got was taking its toll on him. He yearned for physical affection after two years of being seen as little better than a monster by everyone. McCree seeking him out, their touches were constant, fleeting things that Gabriel had come to rely on. Knowing that someone genuinely wanted to look out for his wellbeing on the level Jack used to for three decades.

It hurt Gabriel greatly to think about leaving him and how badly he wanted to either stay or take him with if he was forced to leave.

He was the worst. McCree wasn’t a slave for him to pull around and yet he desired his companionship. 

Worst; he desired his love.

He wanted McCree. Wanted to do more than just let their fingers touch for the briefest of moments when they were alone.

But, Gabe’s loyalty to Hanzo would not allow him to ever think about violating the man’s trust after everything he’s provided him with. It would be spitting in his face and he has enough enemies as it is.

He needed to leave. Make it easy for all of them and pack it up.

They have plenty of his blood in storage, he could go tonight and there wouldn’t be an issue anymore. He could get over the heartache like he did with Jack. 

His mind was made up and he began packing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm gonna have to slow down the update pacing a bit since we're almost up to the part I'm currently writing. Expect maybe a five day delay until the next chapter? Thank you so much for the support, Guys!
> 
> Here's fanart that Ecchima drew of McCree's first attempts to communicate with Gabriel way back when!: http://ecchima.tumblr.com/post/156043513905/a-bunch-of-vampireau-stuff-from-this-awesome-fic
> 
> Edit:
> 
> I went back and edited chapter one just a teeny smidge to make Jesse's age a bit more obvious but I'll flat out state their ages here if anyone is curious.
> 
> Gabriel and Jack- 40
> 
> Jesse, Hanzo, and Genji- 36, 37, and 35 respectively.


	8. reunions

“Here’s the reward, Sir.” The mayor offered the coin for payment in a small sack and dropped it into Gabriel's gloved hand.

It’s his second mission since he returned to the southern lands, about two weeks, if he guesses it correctly, time seems to blur together when you’re keeping yourself busy. He returns to the guild hall to deposit the guild’s half of the commission fee before checking up on the status of his other possible hunt verifications.

“So, this is where ya been holdin’ up, Gabe? Figures you came all the way to the ass end of nowhere.”

Gabriel turned around at the counter to see Jesse McCree, covered in snow that was falling outside, take off his hat to brush the accumulation off it before slipping it back on his head. He felt his heart rate skyrocket at that very moment as McCree casually walked over to him, sweetest smile on his lips before he decked Gabriel straight in the face.

“Okay. I deserved that.” Gabriel grumbled as he held the side of his cheek that was slowly swelling up.

“You’re a goddamned idiot!”

“I deserve that too…”

McCree was the picture of fury as he grabbed Gabriel by the lapels of his coat and dragged him in for a kiss. Gabriel slumped in surprise, unsure of what sequence of events led to a kiss instead of a brawl in the guild hall while the counter attendant stared at them in the middle of the night. His brain finally started to function correctly as he pushed McCree away from him, looking at the gunslinger with a huge amount of concern.

“What are you doing this far south?! Where is Hanzo and Genji?! How did you even find me?! WHY DID YOU KISS ME?!”

“Woah woah woah there, Partner!” McCree chuckled as he held his hands up defensively. “Ain’t I supposed to be the mad one here?”

“You-!”

“Hanzo said it was okay as long as I brought you back!” McCree quickly clarified.

“I don’t believe you one bit, McCree! You’re not stable enough to-”

“I’m on blood tablets, alright?! Don’t call me ‘unstable’, Gabe!”

“Why the fuck would they send you down here to get me versus someone like Genji?! You shouldn’t be far from the mansion if you’re just starting blood tablet treatment! You could relapse!”

“I ain’t never relapsed on yer blood, Gabe, why would I start relapsing now on blood tablets?! If you ain’t a dog on a leash then I don’t certainly need one either! I came here to bring yer dumbass home!”

Gabriel tensed up at that.

“Why should I go back if I’m not needed anymore?”

“Because you’re pretty much part of the clan at this point and Hanzo never made one step to have yer ass removed from the premises? You just fucking left without a word and decided for Hanzo instead of actually TALKING to him, Gabe!” McCree explained firmly. “It’s okay for us to like each other like we want to, Gabe! Hanzo is okay with it!”

“Excuse me, but could you take your arguments somewhere private?” The front desk attendant spoke, snapping them both out of the discussion to remind them where they were. 

“Yeah. Sorry about that, Sir.” Gabriel apologized and looked back over at Jesse. “I got a room for the night. Let’s talk there.”

Jesse nodded his head and followed Gabriel as they went around the corner into a hallway with four rooms on each side. Gabriel found the room that matched the number on the key and unlocked the door, holding it open so Jesse could slip in first before closing it behind him. Jesse started to light the lanterns in the room while Gabriel locked up the door and started to lean into it to see if there were any structural weaknesses he had to be aware of in case of attack. 

“What are ya doin’?” Jesse asked curiously as walked over, holding a lantern even though they both could see in the dark. Old human habits were a comfort sometimes and he would indulge in a candle or two on some nights if there was a purpose to do so.

“Testing the door to get an idea of how long it would last in an attack. I’m going to go check the window.” Gabriel explained as they both moved together to the window where Gabriel explained, other than the obvious structural weakness of glass, where to spot check a window or shutters to see how long they would hold against the average supernatural being/human trying to get in.

“Yeesh, only one minute for them to get through the window?” Jesse rubbed the back of his neck as Gabriel locked the shutters up tightly. 

“Yeah. Not very reassuring for a guild hall in this part of the country but it’s good that you’re learning this now so you can take it back to the Shimadas when you leave in the morning.” Gabriel replied casually as he turned away from the window and pulled his travel pack off his back and set it on the desk, working on getting the crossbows out of his holsters as McCree set his travel pack down next to Gabriel's with notable force.

“Ya see. Problem with that is I have no plan on getting on back to the mansion without ya and they have no plans on movin’ out of the mansion until I get back. I don't think Hanzo and Genji’s pa will be too happy about that either.” 

Gabriel narrowed his eyes as he turned around and looked at McCree. “Are you threatening me? Because that sounds vaguely like one, Jesse McCree.”

Jesse frowned at that and shook his head as he tucked his hands into his coat pocket, leaning his hip against the desk. “I don't want to have to twist yer wrists on this matter either, Gabe, but clearly you need some incentive to come back home. I know you feel like you’ll complicate my loyalties to Hanzo but he and I had a talk about what we both wanted out of our relationship before I came out here.” He turned slightly to drag his bag over and opened it up, pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment and handed it to Gabriel. The seal holding it shut was the Shimada family seal pressed into wax. “Hanzo wrote down his thoughts on the matter between the three of us and I wanted to bring ya proof that the discussion really happened so ya don't think yer status as my master would make me lie or something.”

Gabriel took the parchment and felt the weight of everything on his chest. His feelings for Jesse, his joy at being part of the household, and how lonely he was being out on the road again. 

“I just- It’s hard!” Gabriel croaked out as he brought a hand up to cover his eyes while his head drooped in shame. “Why won't you let me go?”

“Cause you made all of us happy havin’ you around? That we don’t like the idea of ya bein’ on yer own cause ya feel guilty about yer feelings?” Jesse spoke gently in response. “Ya ain't gonna drive a wedge between Hanzo and I, Gabe. We want ya in our lives and Hanzo understands that fully, even if you and I get romantically involved. Of course we’ll have to all talk like adults and set boundaries like rational folk but why not give it a shot before runnin’ for the hills?”

“I thought I told you to stop reading my mind!” Gabriel shouted but it lacked its usual bite it would have had since his face was buried pathetically in his hands and Jesse stepped in close to wrap his arms around Gabe, pulling him in close. 

Jesse rested the side of his face in Gabriel's curly hair, it starting to grow out since he hadn't had the time to trim it and keep it manageable. Gabriel hated pity and went to shove McCree off him but Jesse held him firmly, saying nothing witty or the like to rub the open wound he had. His hands grabbed the front of Jesse’s coat and clutched it tightly in his fists as he tensed up.

“You’re a dense motherfucker, you know that?! Hanzo’s too trusting because I saved your life! I could easily command you to run off with me and you would have to do it! I could order you to kill Hanzo and you would do it! I shouldn't be anywhere near you! All it takes is someone pissing me off enough and I could force you to slaughter everyone! Stop being naïve!!” He spat at Jesse as he glared at him.

Jesse hummed softly in response before drawing back, moving his hands to Gabriel's shoulders as he looked at him. “Yeah, but I don't reckon yer the kind of guy who would do that, not without justified cause, I mean. You had plenty of opportunities to indoctrinate and gradually push me away from the Shimadas, yet ya didn't. Kind of easy to interpret a memory when you get the feelings that someone felt in the moment.” He countered with small smile. “Ya played it very carefully to make sure Genji never got the impression of something foul was at play by keepin’ yer hands up the entire time. I honestly doubt you would ever consider forcing me to do anything I wouldn't want to do, especially since I know yer history first hand.” 

Gabriel sighed heavily, doubt baring down on his back, a weight and power he wasn't comfortable holding against a man he no doubt had feelings for and his family. He’s killed so many other master vampires for the same reason for so long that he couldn't see this going any differently. That he would use Jesse and turn him on the Shimadas. A slave can only be ‘saved’ by killing the master but his death could potentially throw Jesse right back to square one, not that he would ever consider suicide in the first place. No one should ever have that kind of power over a person and yet he does. 

Jesse pulled his arms back around Gabriel's back and he couldn't find a reason to push back against the embrace as his hands slumped to his sides, face buried in McCree’s shoulder. “I have an idea, Gabe. How bout I just follow ya around for a bit, see if ya can even use your powers to get me to do something against my will. Assumin’ it ain't too risky or degrading, that is.” He added quickly. “Please don't make me streak in the snow.”

That was a good question. How will he even know if he was influencing Jesse without trying it out? Jesse was giving his consent to experimenting, within reason, so maybe he might not have the ability to even order him to do horrific things like he fears.

“Fine, but I want you to write to the Shimadas so they know you’re okay and not trying to send an army of hunters to find your dumbass.” Gabriel sighed as Jesse chuckled in amusement and pulled him tighter against his chest. 

“Gotcha, Gabe. I’ll have the guild send off a raven in the mornin’!”

His enthusiasm was kind of exhausting this late at night and he just leaned more heavily into McCree as punishment, as weak of one as it was since the other vampire nuzzled the side of his face with his own in glee. 

“Can I go to bed now?” Gabriel grumbled.

“Sure thing! I’ll let ya be tonight and get myself a room next door.” Jesse uprighted Gabriel with ease and grabbed his pack off the desk before heading over to the door with way too much spring in his step. 

Gabriel begrudgingly followed him and unlocked the door to let him out before closing it then locking it right back up. 

\--

It’s midday when Gabe and Jesse get out of bed and meet up in the guild hall, sitting down to take their blood tablets with a cold glass of water. Jesse cringes at the disgusting taste of synthetic blood after popping the pills into his mouth and downing them quickly with water. Gabriel frowns as he looks at Jesse sitting beside him on the bench and chugging the pint of water like a man who was stranded in the desert.

“Yeah, you really should have stayed on blood a little bit longer and mixed your tablets in like I told you to do if it’s this unbearable to take them still.” Gabriel spoke as Jesse gasped as he came up for air and slammed his empty wooden pint on the table. 

“You-! You went cold turkey on blood tablets from day one, Gabe!” Jesse panted as he scowled at Gabriel, hand still clutching the wooden handle of the pint in an almost overly dramatic fashion. “This ain’t nothin’ compared to some of the stuff I grew up eattin’ in Japan, Partner!”

Right. That ‘natto’ stuck looked and taste pretty gross to him too when that memory played in Gabriel’s dreams one night but Jesse did get acclimated to stuff like that anyways. Not like European food was any better at times either.

“I still say you’re being too bull-headed about heading out so early in your food source transition. I did what I had to out of necessity while you had the ideal situation to smoothly transition into the blood tablets.” Gabriel sighed as he lifted his pint of water to take a slow, long drink from it. “I bet you had to pull over often on the road cause it went right through you at times, am I right?”

Jesse’s scowl turned more into a pout as he glanced away. “... Anything I can take to make the lower plumbing works stop doin’ that?” He grumbled softly, not wanting the other three hunters occupying the various tables in the guild hall to over hear him since being a pair of vampires already attracted enough attention as it was.

“Like I said before, it’s the sudden transition from blood-only to blood tablets that is causing you to vomit out your own ass, Jesse. You need to ween yourself off blood slowly starting with a 75 to 25% ratio of blood to blood tablet mixture and make your way off blood by reducing the amount in it ideally over a month period.” Gabriel explained simply to McCree. “If anything, you should at least have some blood to ease the irritation of your bowels.”

Jesse sighed heavily as he sagged forward, releasing his pint to make it rattle on the table to balance itself before Gabe placed his palm gently on the rim to get it to stop. “The guild halls barely carry blood tablets as it is, much less stored blood.”

Gabriel knew he was going to probably regret doing this but stood up, holding his pint of water in one hand before patting Jesse on the shoulder to get up with him. “You have a donor, Moron, follow.”

Jesse looked up at him in perplex confusion for a split second before realizing what Gabriel meant by that and obediently got up to follow him to his room.

Gabriel unlocked the door to his room and pushed it open with his shoulder, letting Jesse in first before going in himself and shutting the door behind him, locking it up securely. Jesse was standing near the desk, looking around anxiously as Gabriel set his pint down on the desk and got to work with pulling out his first aid kit. 

“Something wrong, Jesse?” Gabriel asked gently as he opened the box to pull out a gauze, antiseptic, and cotton wrap, setting the items on the table.

“It ain’t that, but isn’t drinking blood from ya kind of intimate?” Jesse responded. “Ain’t it kind of like kissin’ someone to ya, Gabe?”

“Pretty sure kissing requires mouth to mouth contact. You’re just feeding off me like a calf does to its mother.” Gabriel answered in a professional manner, trying to keep his own feelings out of the conversation while McCree was shifting about and trying to get something out of him in the moment.

He was pretty sure he was doing a convincing job of keeping his feelings under wraps since Jesse didn’t seem keen on pursuing the topic like he usually did, since he could feel Gabriel’s feelings through their unfiltered link. Gabriel began removing his coat, vest, and button up as he sat down on the chair, tossing the clothing onto the bed before looking at Jesse expectantly.

McCree hesitated for a moment but approached after taking a deep breath through his nose and straddled Gabriel’s lap. Warmth blossomed in Gabriel’s chest from the familiar ritual between them that he hadn’t figured he would miss, and placed his hands on McCree’s waist to steady him as he leaned down to his neck. Gabriel tried to stay relaxed, penetration wouldn’t hurt too badly even if McCree was-

Jesse pressed as kiss to Gabriel’s shoulder, a timid one that soon became bolder as he slowly began working his way toward the juncture of muscle between Gabriel’s neck and shoulder, drawing a sigh out of the master vampire. Gabriel missed affection, in general, and wasn’t about to tell Jesse to stop if it was his way to get Gabriel to relax before biting into him. 

“Are ya sure a bite ain’t a kiss, Gabe?” Jesse purred against his ear, drawing a pleasant shiver to shoot up his spine.

“You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be, Jesse.” Gabriel responded quietly.

“I want more than just yer blood, Gabe.” Jesse spoke with adoration as he backed off from Gabriel’s neck and raised the man’s head with his hand so red eyes met red eyes. “I want to be more than what you label both of us to keep me at arm’s length.”

Gabriel frowned at that, guilt still chewing away at his consciousness even when he took the time to read the letter Hanzo wrote him, and giving his approval of a relationship in a very Hanzo-like manner. Of course, that required hims going back to the mansion to actually negotiate and he wasn’t so sure he could handle that thought. What if Jesse was guilt tripping Hanzo to make room for his master as a slave?

“Ya know, getting out of yer damn mind might help curb the anxiety yer feelin’, Gabe.” Jesse spoke sympathetically as he cupped one side of Gabriel’s face gently and caressed the other man’s cheek with his thumb. “Let me help ya like ya helped me, alright?”

“There’s a difference, Jesse.” Gabriel sighed.

“I know, but, it meant a lot to all of us to have ya bring me back so, I wanna help ya out by bringing ya back where ya belong too.” He explained carefully, making sure Gabe didn’t misunderstand why he made the comparison in the first place and his chest clenched painfully at that. “Please, Gabe… We all want you to come back. Yer home is where we are.”

“... Just drink already.” Gabriel grumbled, obviously displeasing McCree as he got off and shook his head.

“Nah, I’ll stomach havin’ the runs over feedin’ off someone who’s clearly havin’ a case of indecision and needs to actually think.” Jesse countered, hitting Gabriel where it hurt before gesturing to the door behind him. “Mind gettin’ this open for me?”

Gabriel got up and pulled out the key from his pocket, looking at Jesse one more time as he passed him before unlocking his door and letting the gunslinger walk out. He closed the door behind him and locked it on reflex, tucking the key back into his pocket before burying his face in his hands in shame.


	9. Why does it have to be salamanders?

McCree didn’t seem to hold what happened earlier against Gabriel as they met up again in the guild hall, guilt still tugged on Gabriel’s strings but he had to stay focused. They had a theory to prove and based on the letter they received from Hanzo and Genji in response, a master vampire and his servant were on the way to the guild hall along with the brothers to help train both Jesse and Gabe to make the most of their bond.

Several hunter groups watched in amusement from the afar tables in the hall (after being informed the vampires were hunters too and allowed to be there) as Jesse removed his boots on Gabriel’s order and then turned back on the bench to face an annoyed looking Gabriel. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before looking at Jesse disappointedly.

“You’re suppose to resist my orders with every fiber of your being, McCree! How are we supposed to figure out if I’m influencing your actions or not if you’re screwing around?!”

Jesse frowned at Gabriel as he crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his wool socks against the wooden floor. “But, it’s kind of fun obeying nonsense orders comin’ from ya. I mean, I’m so used to be told to do stuff like ‘Oh! Jesse! Go scrub the floors!’ or ‘Oh! Jesse! Make sure you air out the futons correctly this time and actually bring them in when one drop of rain drops out in the garden from a vagrant cloud in the clear sky!’. Ya know, shit like that!” 

Gabriel stared at him for a good few moment before his head slightly tilted to the side. “What’s a ‘futon’?”

Jesse looked at him incredulously, flinching like Gabriel tried to yank his nose off or something like that. “Oh. Right. Um.” He looked off to the side as he brought his hand up to scratch at his beard. “It’s like a flat mattress we slept on back when I was growin’ up in the Shimada fortress. Lay them out on the floor and you sleep on ‘em. Has to be aired out every few months so it don’t get mites.” Jesse explained.

Gabriel pondered through the memories he leeched through Jesse and sort of remembered seeing something like that. He nodded his head as he made eye contact with the gunslinger. “I see. When exactly did you stop being a household servant to the Shimadas, anyways? If you want to tell me, that is.”

Jesse smiled warmly at Gabriel for that. “This is kind of why I don’t mind doin’ anything fer ya, Gabe. Always givin’ me an out and keepin’ me in mind whenever you say somethin’ to me.” He chuckled affectionately, making Gabriel’s cheeks warm up slightly under the praise before the other man cleared his throat. “My ma, and pa paid off the debt when I was ten, I suppose. It was around that time when I told Shimada-sa- I mean, Lord Shimada, that I wanted to train with Hanzo and Genji to be a hunter like him.”

“Why did you correct yourself?” Gabriel asked curiously.

Jesse sighed as he brought a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Well, my family was indebted to the Shimada clan due to my grandfather’s gambling, and Hanzo and Genji’s father, Ryuu Shimada, was basically the equivalent to a king out in Japan with the territories his ancestors conquered. He’s definitely not on the level of the Emperor but is one of the few powerful warlords, if that makes any sense to ya. Anyways, calling him ‘Shimada-san’ is equivalent of calling someone ‘mister’ here, so, it’s a huge sign of disrespect for an indentured servant to call a powerful man that when words like ‘sama’ would be much more respectful of his high position in society.” 

He then paused to smile. 

“But, ya see, he didn’t mind my antics when it was just us and his sons. I could call him ‘mister’ and get away with it cause he liked my attitude. Thought it brought out more warmth in the fortress if he could treat me and my family like we were part of his family as well. Suppose, I have my pa to thank for that since he and Shimada-san were very good friends. Shimada-san let my father marry my ma. I think she was one of his concubines, but I ain’t too curious to figure out how the Shimadas ended up with a western woman from the south in Japan that didn’t know a lick of Japanese. Not everything the Shimadas did was good, but they adore each other to pieces.”

Jesse then scooted over close to Gabriel and whispered in his ear. “All three of them; my pa, my ma, and Shimada-san. That’s why Hanzo and Genji aren’t disgusted by the idea of you bein’ with me and livin’ with us. If our parents can do it, even with their status differences, then why not us? That’s just our reasonin’, I guess. We saw how good it can work out.” He then smiled warmly and scooted back to give Gabe his space back.

Suddenly a lot of things made more sense to Gabriel; Genji’s casual attitude to Jesse answering Gabriel’s door for him one morning, Hanzo’s lack of offense during meal times when Jesse flirted with Gabriel, Hanzo likely finding out about Jesse’s affections towards Gabriel before that and likely giving him the approval to pursue him and a whole host of subtle interactions between the two of them. Their parents were in a relationship like the one they wanted to bring him into. It was nice to learn more about Jesse and learn it straight from his mouth rather than random memories he received.

“An-anyways! Like I said, Jesse, we’re going to be laughing stocks when the vampire and servant team accompanying the Shimadas get here if you keep doing things to be a dumbshit and trying to flatter me!” Gabriel growled in annoyance before lightly slapping his hand on the table. “I mean it! I’ll start having you do really embarrassing shit if you don’t take this serious and resist!” He jabbed a finger against Jesse’s chest and the other vampire looked at him in amusement.

“I killed my lord’s prized koi fish with my own ass, Gabe. I doubt you can order me to do something that will top that level of embarrassment!” Jesse grinned mischievously as he leaned in, as if challenging Gabe to do his worst.

Gabriel smirked in amusement and leaned in close in response. No way he was going to go easy on Jesse McCree anymore. Time to take off the kiddie gloves!

“Tell me a childhood story but with your wool socks as sock puppet characters acting out the scenes! Also, you need to say it out loud to everyone in the room!” Gabriel declared smugly. “This is an order from your master!”

Jesse looked at him for a moment before his eyes gazed down at his feet. “Can I put my boots on while I do this?” He asked while wiggling his toes in his socks.

“When do servants get to negotiate their orders, McCree?” Gabriel sighed heavily as he brought a palm to his face.

Jesse just looked up at him with a dumb look on his face. “I’m pretty sure I was able to negotiate what condition I would be in when working on something, Gabe. Have YOU ever actually seen how servants work?”

Gabriel paused and found himself frowning. “Okay, you got a point. My household never had servants so I have no idea if there is an expectation on how they do things.” He admitted.

“Really? The Reyes family was a big huntin’ clan in the central territories, I assumed ya’ll had the luxuries that came with that kind of status.” Jesse remarked curiously.

“Other safer alternatives cropped off so the family ‘clan’ splintered off and I basically inherited nothing but an empty mansion when my parents passed away. It was why I tried to rebuild our clan to it’s former glory for all of my living life with Jack by my side.” Gabriel explained rather somberly. “I was desperate to bring the Reyes name back and joined the guild as a way to actually poach talent rather. It was a means to an end, and that passion was what Jack really believed in. I was cut-throat but never mistreated the few I had under me, Jack included.”

Jesse nodded his head with a sympathetic expression on his face. “That sounds about right for the information Hanzo handed over to me when I wanted to learn more about you. I thought it was some fucked up prank that a guild higher up was playin’ by bein’ interested in launchin’ an investigation into yer conduct before ya turned. You’re pretty much a completely different person now.”

Gabriel heaved a heavy sigh as he took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair before pulling it back on. “I was a real shitbag.”

“I kind of disagree with that extreme. Jack doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would love someone so completely ruthless. There had to have been some good in ya that ya can’t see past yer lingering guilt.” Jesse explained to Gabriel calmly. “The man before me wouldn’t have wanted to change into a better person if he didn’t desire that deeply in his heart. Maybe this is the person ya wanted to be before ya'll went on the war path to revive what your family once had.”

Gabriel looked down, feeling a mixture of shame and guilt as he listened to Jesse speak about his thoughts on the matter. He shook his head lightly, Jesse had a good point about that and looked up at his with a small sincere smile on his lips.

“Thank you, Jesse.”

\--

“Ya know, I’m gettin’ awfully tired of ya tryin’ to ditch me.” Jesse grumbled as he finally caught up with Gabriel, tying up his horse before looking at the abandoned church in front of them. “The hell is in this pig stye that the village next door could possibly need killed?”

Jesse was getting faster at receiving his memories, almost a half an hour delay in his arrival to the church as Gabriel jotted down the observation in his notebook before putting away his pocket watch that he was using to time Jesse without telling him. Jesse glanced over at the notebook as Gabriel jotted down more notes and tried to lean over to read it before Gabe snapped it shut. The other vampire pretty much scowled at him as he set his hands on his hips. Jesse could feel emotions Gabriel had at the moment of the memory but unable to read his mind to get the context. He could keep secrets to himself but it would be very hard to do so since he couldn't neatly clip his own memories to send to Jesse and his big mouth would spell things out as well with the emotional read out.

Maybe Jesse does meditation to put himself into a relaxed state whenever he wants to know Gabriel's whereabouts? What is the minimum distance between them that would cause the condition to not trigger? This bond between them was an interesting thing to dissect but Jesse would catch on eventually when he gets the memories of Gabriel writing in the notebook later - assuming Jesse could pick or influence the memories he receives or he just tends to filter out the unnecessary ones.

Gabriel tucked the notebook and fountain pen away into his satchel and secured it under his hunter’s coat before pulling his crossbow off his back holster. “Not many supernatural beings take residence in abandoned houses of worship, you know. It killed quite a few people trying to torch it out into the light before they finally went to the Guild with this one.”

Jesse nods his head and keeps his hands casually on his belt as they walk together up the stone steps to the the sad hole that was one a church’s entry way. Churches were once a work of architectural art down in the south before it was ruined by monsters and humans alike. The place used to be the holy land of various religions and cultural epicenters but also brought it’s own brand of extreme idiots along with it, or at least attracted those types. Those types then attracted or created monsters for acts of brutality and slowly the people were driven from the lands which then led to decay and created hovels for more monsters to reside. It was a damned shame but the area never had a dull moment or lack of currency flowing into hunter’s pockets due to people wanting to regain access to their ancestral lands. They gladly let vampires like Gabriel do the hunts and won’t spit on them for doing so, unlike other safer places in the country.

It was nice having a partner who could reliably watch Gabriel’s back and also put out the damage if they met something that a simple holy bolt couldn’t bring down with one shot. It was part of the reason why Gabriel waited on the hillside, eyes facing the road to see if and when Jesse would show up rather than heading in himself.

“Alright, I’ve went in blind many times to places like this but you have any idea what we might be messin’ with here?” Jesse asked curiously as he lightly patted the quick reload devices strapped to the side of his belt, held in place with a leather band and button over the top. “Got loose ammo as well and rather load that up with the proper elemental counter before we go into battle, ya get me?”

Gabriel nodded his head as they came to a halt a few steps away from the entrance. “Clearly not fire, nor holy, if it’s living in the church and hasn’t killed itself tripping over holy water vials.” He whispered to Jesse in case the creature was nearby. “I’d say start with holy anyways and let’s try to toss its focus back and forth between us so we can try with different elements to see which works. Minus ‘gravity’ since we don't need that weak-looking stone roof to fall on us.” Gabriel gestures upwards and Jesse nods his head as he scratches at his beard.

“Ya'll got gravity-aligned bolts?” He asked, genuinely intrigued. “Ain’t those kind of pricey to get?”

“The Reyes family prided itself in hunting and runecrafting. I’m a master-level rune crafter but I’ve only really enchanted projectiles so it’s more for economic ease by enchanting my own bolts than profit-making.”

Jesse’s eyes widened in amazement. “Ho~ly shit! Hanzo ain’t never told me about that bit! Ya can basically retire and make a fortune with that level of specialty!”

Gabriel smirked and rolled his eyes. “I know but, like I said, I’m out of practice with enchanting anything but projectiles. I imagine it would take me a few months to maybe a few years to learn the properties of your bullets and rework what I know about rune placements to get everything to work as intended plus deal exceptional damage on detonation. A huge pain in the ass, basically.”

Jesse chuckled softly in amusement before smiling at Gabriel. “I certainly wouldn’t mind waitin’ fer ya to learn, Gabe. Plan on spending the rest of my life with ya by my side anyhow.”

Gabriel ignored the way his chest tightened at the way McCree so affectionately spoke those words and knew he was fucking screwed at this point since he pretty much lost the will to chase McCree back to the mansion where Hanzo and Genji were waiting for him. He hated how easily he caved to his own desires but put them aside since studying their relationship as Master and Servant was worth keeping the other vampire around. He would gladly send McCree away if he got a more convenient opportunity - He had to...

He hefted his crossbow up and looked at McCree before his gaze went to the entrance of the church. “Let’s focus on actually hunting rather than flirting, Jesse. Watch my six, alright?” Gabriel added quickly and Jesse nodded his head, taking Peacekeeper out of his hip holster as they bolted inside the church together.

\--

For fuckssakes, it just HAD to be giant salamander in the church and it just HAD to be on fire!

“Go topside, McCree!” Gabriel commanded as he rolled out of the way of a fire ball that tore through the already collapse benches and ducked behind a stone pillar to disperse the next fireball without roasting him alive. The stupid fucking salamander was at least ten feet long from the tip of its nose to its tail, its entire back on fire as it shrieked loud enough to lightly rattle the building.

McCree bolted from cover across the room to head up the staircase to the second floor balcony seats, drawing the salamander’s attention for a second before Gabriel delivered an ice-enchanted bolt to its head. It shrieked out and stumbled from the sudden pain, knocking around the rotted benches with its body and tail as it panicked but didn’t go down. The heat from the salamander’s body was too much for the ice magic to hold stable and do actual damage, causing a stream of steam to rise up from the bolt embedded maybe a quarter of the way awkwardly into the creature’s skull from its rubbery flesh partially absorbing the bolt’s momentum and Gabriel not having the best angle to really make it penetrate deeply from where he was behind cover.

Gabriel clicked his tongue in annoyance as he loaded a regular bolt into place on the crossbow and locked it into position to be fired when he pulled the trigger. There was no use wasting ice bolts on this asshole if his fire negated his magic before it could trigger and carefully scooted over to see where McCree was up on the second floor since he wasn’t firing his pistol. McCree was at the furthest side of the balcony, back pressed up against the stone pillar that held up one side of the balcony and the roof since it ran from the ceiling to the ground floor. Not the best cover spot but he could easily roll and take cover behind the covered railing for the forward-most seats on the balcony if the salamander wanted to reangle itself to toss an accurate fireball McCree’s way. The moment it goes to turn its attention to McCree was when Gabriel would punish the monster for looking away from him, both McCree and Gabriel playing a dangerous game of the ‘tap the shoulder’ prank with the salamander in the middle of them.

The villagers setting the church on fire to get the creature to come out only served to make the creature larger when it devoured the flames and it was no wonder why they didn’t mind sending in vampire hunters to take this massive thing on.

Gabriel stepped out from cover and fired at the creature quickly, grazing the side of its face before it retaliated with a bolt of fire. He ducked behind the pillar again and made himself as small as possible as the pillar scattered the fireball into fiery embers from impact. “DON’T USE ICE, MCCREE!” He yelled to his partner.

“ROGER, GABE!” McCree yelled back before taking pot shots at the monster, making it cry out in rage.

Gabriel slapped a gloved hand to his face as McCree revealed his position before firing like a fucking idiot but luckily that pistol of his was damn good at putting out damage fast so the salamander wouldn’t have much time to make use of the location reveal. Gabriel stepped out behind cover and went to fire another arrow but found the beast charging at him, its entire fucking body on fire like a literal monster shot out of hell. Jesse fired at the creature as he shouted obscenities in desperation to draw its attention back to him but it plowed right into the pillar and Gabriel’s combat roll came far too late to save him from the aftermath of the part of the roof over him from coming down with the pillar was dislodged.

Having a lot of wood and stone hurt like hell when it was pinning you down and likely impaling you in places but he was more worried about the salamander's proximity to him as he tried to push the heavy pile off himself. Gabriel couldn’t see for shit and certainly couldn't breath for shit from all the dust in the debris pocket he was stuck in but the blood curling roar not more than four feet away from him certainly meant that the salamander wasn’t killed by the roof collapsing either. Jesse’s pistol fired rapidly as he was likely pushed into a rage-state, like any other servant he dealt with when their master was harmed on the level Gabriel was, and he felt his heart skip a beat as the other vampire let his fury be known.

“YOU. FUCKING. COCKSUCKING. SHIT!!” 

Jesse had to be eating through his quick reloads because it felt like the guy was using a fucking gatling gun from how the firing of the pistol never seemed to stop as he screamed out the entire time until the salamander shook the ground when it finally went down and hopefully for the last time. The adrenaline didn’t seem to end there for the other vampire as heavy rocks and wood were tossed and rolled off him as Jess began the process of digging Gabriel out. A good use of momentum in Gabe’s book. He would definitely praise Jesse later when they were safely back at the guild and he could lay down to sleep for an entire week.

The noises ceased as Gabriel felt the pressure on his legs and back give way to relief from being removed but the pregnant pause was quickly followed by Jesse carefully scooping him up in the most awkward bridal carry he was never held in before and then being raced outside.

“Shitshitshitshitshit!” Jesse hissed under his breath as he untied both of their horses with one hand and managed to somehow get up on his horse without dropping Gabriel in the process. The rest of the night was a blur of hooves beating the dirt road hard and Jesse being on the brink of a panic attack as he kept mumbling stuff to himself.

Turns out Gabriel got impaled through the chest with wood and that was why he felt like wanting to do nothing but sleep for a week; he had never been in a bloodlust state before and that proved key to saving his own life since his body didn’t succumb to it like it should have with the amount of blood he lost. The doctors were not too nice about pulling the fucking steak from his chest and holy hell did he want to kill them in the moment before he tasted blood in his mouth. McCree cut his arm next to Gabriel’s bedside and practically shoved it into his mouth to help calm him while the doctors continued with the surgery. The blood was likely to distract him and what a nice distraction it was once he got past the initial gross-factor of real blood in his mouth. 

A hand gently ran through his short, black curls and all Gabriel could focus on was Jesse whispering reassuring words to him along with how nice it felt to have a steady stream of blood after his body practically ached for relief. Gabriel also hoped that Jesse took some tablets before acting as a donor cause there wouldn’t be anyone here to properly restrain him if he went into a blood-lust state and would likely kill McCree instead of risking a bite trying to restrain him. The thought of them killing Jesse for trying to save Gabe’s life made him remove his mouth from Jesse’s arm and weakly try to push it away along with turning his head away from Jesse so he couldn’t keep trying to force blood into him.

“It’s alright, Gabe. Just let me know if ya need more, okay?” Jesse reassured him as there was a rustling behind his head from Jesse’s direction as he likely got to work on disinfecting himself and wrapping his head wounds up while the doctors continued the surgery.

“Mm…” Was all Gabriel could manage before he slowly drifted off to sleep, even through the pain of surgery, remarkably enough.

He was safe and Jesse wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter!


	10. Having a talk

Gabriel groaned as a muffled voice tried waking him up, gently pinching his palm and the skin between his fingers to make it harder for him to doze back off before he opened his eyes and scowled at the asshole who dared to wake him up this insistently. “Fuck off.” He weakly grumbled before he tasted blood from something that was forced into his mouth.

McCree’s arm was in Gabriel’s mouth when Gabe opened his eyes to see what was going on. It was a self-inflicted wound dripping blood onto his tongue, and Gabe’s had to resist the urge to bite into the flesh as his tongue lapped at it instead. “Looks like you made it through the day, alright.” Jesse sighed in relief as he carded a hand through Gabriel’s hair affectionately while his master lazily drank from his arm.

Gabriel was more relieved that JESSE made it through the whole thing. Maybe it was the overprotectiveness talking since he KNEW Jesse barely gave him enough blood to cause any discomfort for himself but he still worried, nonetheless. He definitely wouldn’t admit that to Jesse though.

“Ya know… It feels pretty good bein’ able to fight by yer side. Genji and Hanzo said you had a sharp eye for tactics and I didn’t worry for one minute when ya proposed slappin’ a giant fire fire-breathin’ lizard back and forth between us. I guess we kind of overestimated how stubborn it could be though.” Jesse sighed heavily at that last part but looked at him with a smile that always seemed to put Gabriel in a good place whenever he saw it. “I love you, Gabe. I know it ain’t what ya wanna hear when yer so divided on everything but It’s the truest damn thing I know.” He admitted with every fiber of sincerity in his soul. “Like, I didn’t even know when I really came back all those months ago, to be honest... All I knew was that there was this handsome as fuck stranger lettin’ me feed off of his shoulder after he willingly let Genji slice him with one of his knives. At first I thought ya were kind of a freak. What kind of person willingly lets a vampire bite them? Then I figured out you were a vampire and then I just got plain confused.” Jesse chuckled softly in amusement at that. “I guess the memories kind of helped me figure out the kind of person ya were until ya came down one day as upset like yer ma had past or somethin’. That’s when I knew I could trust ya with my life and I sure as hell wouldn’t let anythin’ bad happen to ya, even felt like ya deserved it.”

Jesse McCree was a moron. A moron that wore his heart so visibly on his sleeves it was no wonder why everyone was so desperate to bring him back, even if there was a high probability of it failing. It made Gabriel eventually worked even harder to see Jesse make the comeback the Shimadas so desperately needed- The guy was practically a walking ray of sunshine in this downbeat world.

Gabriel honestly didn’t want to argue with him this time and he knew well enough Jesse wasn’t going to push the issue outside of acknowledging his own feelings. He just nodded his head to show that he was still listening as Jesse gently ruffled his hair, reminding him that he was likely a smelly grease ball from not bathing in two days, not that he could bathe anyways with a healing wound in his chest.

“Anyways, the game plan is to get ya back on yer feet with some quality blood from your’s truly and maybe do a little more huntin’ while we’re at it. Think of it like a series of dates where I give back the life force you gave me and maybe, just maybe, it’ll help you really understand that Hanzo and I are serious ‘bout this, Gabe.” He spoke with a warmth in his tone that really helped put Gabriel at ease as McCree shifted to get comfortable on the bed next to him while Gabriel continued to feed slowly. “You’re not takin’ anyone away from anyone, Gabriel Reyes. Please try to understand that we want to walk the world with you and that we understand that your problems ain't something that can be fixed in one night or with just one conversation.” Jesse reassured him as he leaned forward pressing an affectionate kiss to Gabriel’s head that spoke volumes of how much adoration he genuinely held for him. “We’ll work on it, and if you need to spend some time on yer own once and awhile we’ll-”

“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Gabriel interrupted him, catching them both off guard with his confession as he leaned his head back against the headboard, staring up at the ceiling so as to avoid looking at McCree and afraid he’ll lose his courage if he has to directly face him. “Jack tried so hard to adjust, Jesse. He’s not a cruel bastard considering the effort he went through to try to help. It was because of him I never had to taste another human’s blood, that the blood tablets entered circulation in the guild halls so I wouldn’t have to be afraid of myself for the sakes of those around me. Do you know how hard it was to watch him get pulled away from me? He was so invested in making the pills work correctly with little side effects, chasing after chemists and alchemists who were terrified of being punished for working on a pharmaceutical for vampires. I felt so helpless. It was guilt that changed me. I pushed him away by refusing to hold him, even when under the effects of the tablets that I wasn’t sure I could trust to keep me sane. Eventually, we separated but he promised that I would never have to worry about my medicine ever failing me even when I failed him as a husband.”

Gabriel’s voice cracked as he felt pain and anguish immobilizing him hard in its steel vice grip. His wound hurt like hell as his chest spasmed from how hard he was crying but McCree was holding him tightly from the side, trying his best to ground him and not strain the stitches on his chest - a hard balance to find but Gabriel appreciated the concern considerably in this wrecked state. 

“I don’t want to go through that again, Jesse. I don’t want to put the burdens on others but I can’t stand not having someone beside me! People hate you for being a vampire and vampires hate you for being a hunter, there’s literally no one to turn to or even begin to talk to who won’t toss you out or worse if they find out what I am. I don’t regret being a hunter and I cannot even think about not being one if I want to stay on blood tablets. I’ll kill for both sides even if it means neither wants me at the end of the day just so I can at least live the way I want to.”

Jesse nodded his head before leaning in to press his forehead lightly against Gabriel’s temple. “Take the third option then, Gabe. Yeah, I get that I ain’t got no right to tell ya what ya’ll should or shouldn’t do but fer fuckssakes I want ya in my life! Don’t hesitate to seize a good fuckin’ thing right in front of ya if ya’ll have been with us long enough to have us chasin’ ya ‘round the country to bring ya back! We’re a happy quartet that didn’t even know what we had until ya’ll saddled up and left us! It’s fine that ya don’t want to go back right away - Hanzo gets that! Just please give us another try! I’m puttin’ my heart out here for ya, Gabe. We genuinely want ya back with us! Nothin’ is perfect but that don’t mean we can’t talk out our insecurities and make a compromise! Please…!” He pleaded softly to Gabriel, hot tears dripping onto Gabe’s bare shoulder as they both trembled from their confessions.

“Maybe… Maybe, I’ll honestly consider it.” Gabriel hesitated to speak, not wanting to make a promise that would ruin their relationship if broken but still wanting to say something to help calm Jesse.

“You don’t have to rush fer my sakes, Gabe.” Jesse chuckled softly, lifting his head up to press his lips gently against Gabe’s cheek. 

Gabriel frowned at that as he knew that was beyond true for their situation. Jesse and himself might be conditionally immortal but Genji and Hanzo were not. There was no way Jesse was going to let Gabriel drag his feet on a choice for too long but he appreciated the thought that it was genuinely what the trio came to decide before Jesse was likely allowed to leave to find him. You don’t let those kind of people down when they trusted you with one of their own…

“One month. I’ll make my decision within one month, Jesse. That should be more than enough time to think through everything and give my final answer on this dilemma.” Gabriel spoke with an air of finality that left no interpretation open that he would try to slip away again from this ordeal.

For all the kindness they’ve shown Gabriel, the Shimada trio deserved that much and a lot more.

Jesse was quiet for a few moments before nodding his head, pulling his arms away from Gabriel and turning so they were both sitting side by side on the bed. The fireplace crackling and popping from the logs it slowly burned through and filling the room with warmth even though it was below zero outside. Gabriel could hear the wind whistling outside of the closed window and was glad that they didn’t take the hunt today or he might not have been as lucky to wake up from what happened at the church…

The back of their hands brushed against each other’s due to their close proximity to each other and Gabriel smiled to himself as he nervously slipped his fingers into Jesse’s palm without looking. His eyes started at the fireplace along the wall and feeling every part of him feeling relaxed in this moment, especially when Jesse spread his fingers to allow Gabriel to thread his own between them and let their palms press together.

“You think, if the weather isn’t so bad tomorrow, you could send a raven or pidgeon to the Shimadas to let them know of my decision?” Gabriel asked, resting his head against McCree’s shoulder as he heard Jesse hum softly in agreement.

“Sure thing. Gotta let him know we beat the shit out of a fucking giant salamander anyways. I don’t think I’ve taken on big monster quests like that in a while and the reward was rather nice.” Jesse chuckled softly as he rested his temple against Gabriel’s head lightly. “Four uncut diamonds and five hundred gold coins, Gabe. It’s a pretty nice haul, and we’ll get to eat some fine lizard meat for the next few weeks!”

Gabriel playfully gagged at that, making Jesse laugh as he felt his own smile grow on his lips. Lizard meat wasn’t that half bad and the fact that it stays fresh for a while, if well preserved, meant that meals with their blood tablets might have more of a fun flare for once. Assuming Jesse or the staff knew anything about cooking lizard meat properly…

He frowned at the idea of Jesse or that staff burning off the delicious skin since it was so delicate but, then again, this was a fire salamander and cooking the skin might not be possible with how resistant it was to flames for obvious reasons. Maybe he should request that no skin be in the meals he orders for Jesse and himself just to be on the safe side - Vampire or not, they still suffered from food poisoning like humans do sans actually dying from it.

“You got that uneasy look on yer face, Gabe. Somethin’ got ya worried?” Jesse chuckled in amusement, knowing full well that Gabriel was a bit… picky, when it came to food he got on the road and at the guild hall.

“Food poisoning.” 

Jesse’s smile turned right to a disgusted frown as the realization hit him.

“We- We can’t die from that, right?” 

Gabriel looked at him in pure dread as his free hand clutched his stomach. “You could only WISH it would kill us if you get it, Jesse.”

A strained noise came from Jesse’s throat as he looked away in distress. “I LIKE eatin’.”

“It’s a horrifying world for vampires, Jesse. It’s a horrifying world.” Gabriel groaned.

\--

The doctor came to the room the next morning, Jesse watching as he placed log after log into the fireplace, the bottom cleared of ash prior to the new logs being added in to keep the fire hazard in the room low, and then pulled out one of Gabriel’s fire rune-embedded bolts to press the tip to the dry wood to ignite it. Jesse quickly with drew the bolt, blowing on the tip to put the flame out as he shook it, the fire rune fading from the shaft of the bolt with the magic depleted. He then moved over to the ashtray to lay the bolt on it for it to cool and be reused later when Gabriel was well enough to re-bless the bolt with a rune.

Jesse slept on the floor, much to Gabriel’s annoyance, after they finished talking about the mundane and it was obvious that Jesse was sore as he tried to subtly stretch out his limbs and crack his back while the doctor checked Gabriel over. Gabriel TRIED to make Jesse go back to his room but that feat was impossible if Gabriel couldn’t get out of bed to boot the other vampire’s ass out the door like he wanted to. Some ‘master’ vampire he was if his ‘slave’ literally flipped him off as he wrapped a spare blanket around his body and fell right asleep against the wall with no hint of discomfort whatsoever. It got him thinking that maybe there was some merit in assuming that he wasn’t really much of a ‘master’ vampire with the way Jesse carried on with his rebellious ways and that maybe he didn’t have a lot of influence over him as he assumed.

“Your wounds are healing quite fast, Reyes, it’s quite fascinating.” The doctor smiled as he continued to write down his observations in his book for his research on the vampire body and how it deals with injuries. It was the only way the guild could convince any doctor to perform surgery on Gabriel - by grabbing one who was actually interested in documenting ‘the occult’ out of intrigue and letting him write down as much as he wanted about the procedures he used. It wasn’t very comforting but they were desperate to save his life…

“Okay… How long do you think it will take until the internal injuries are fully healed, Doctor?” Gabriel asked as the man carefully lifted up Gabriel’s arm to see if there was any discoloration taking place anywhere near the wound’s general location before gently placing it back down to his side.

“A full recovery at this rate? Maybe two more days, I suppose. I wouldn’t suggest you do anything too strenuous for at least a week since vampires are known to heal surface wounds very quickly and internal bleeding is a very serious concern with the debris actually having pierced your heart.” 

Jesse blinked at that skeptically as he walked back over to his chair by the desk and took a seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “Vampires die if you stake them through the heart, Doc. He certainly ain’t dead.”

The doctor rolled his eyes as he kept jotting down more observation data into his book, turning to a fresh page to continue his note taking. “He wasn’t ‘steaked’ but impaled by wood. You should know there’s rules on what constitutes as a ‘steak’ and what doesn’t, Hunter.” He chastised, making Gabriel shoot Jesse a sympathetic look as he brought a hand up to his face in embarrassment.

Okay, in the heat of the moment, it was understandable that Jesse freaked out when he saw wood impaled through Gabriel’s heart. Yes, there were construction guidelines for what makes a good steak to kill a vampire with but when your partner is a vampire and this similar circumstance happens to them it would be easy to start panicking. ‘Better safe than sorry’, as wise men say.

“Lay off on him a bit, Doc. You weren’t exactly there at the time.” Gabriel retorted, not wanting to embarrass Jesse further but certainly not letting the doctor off the hook either for trying to chastise McCree for his gut reaction. Anyone else would have called him killed in action and left his body behind if they were heartless enough.

“My apologies, Reyes. I was being rather insensitive to you companion’s plight.” The doctor apologized - if he was sincere or not wasn’t exactly Gabriel could make a call on for how stiff the man generally talked. “Anyways, it’s important that you understand that there isn’t much research I can look up to get a general time frame of when vampires full heal internal wound damage so it’s better that you stay in bed and rest than not. The guild will obviously protect you both while you’re in its halls but you should always be at your full strength when outside of its walls.” He reminded Gabriel but he knew the information also applied to McCree but it was unlikely that he would venture outside for more than a minute if he needed to send a pigeon to communicate with the Shimada brothers. “As for your personal hygiene? If your stitches heal up fully then I will give my consent, as your doctor, to use a bath but specific restrictions will be up in the air until I check in with you in the morning. Will that be alright?”

Gabriel nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

The doctor closed up his book and pulled up his satchel onto his lap before opening it up to remove a vial with about five perfectly round blood tablets inside that were a deeper crimson than usual. He set it on the nightstand before standing up and stepping around the stool he was sitting on as he tucked his book under his arm. “These are some prototype blood tablets I was sent from the central guild’s alchemy wing. These tablets contain a new formula to boost blood cell creation in the body rather than just simply replicating the effects of drinking blood to prevent a blood lust state. The alchemists say that you should have one tablet in the morning only and continue taking your blood tablets as you usually do. There’s no dietary restrictions except for alcohol consumption, which you shouldn’t be drinking anyways when you’re bed-ridden like this. Let me know if anything happens; if you feel better or your body is reacting poorly to it. It won’t cause a blood lust state in any case but I rather you honestly feel better than not and will take you off them immediately should the side-effects outweigh the benefits, experimental or not.” 

Gabriel glanced over at the glass vial then back at the doctor as he nodded his head. “I’ll let you know in detail how it goes, Doctor. Thank you for your help.”

The doctor actually smiled for a moment before readjusting the strap of his satchel over his shoulder. “It’s what I signed up for, Reyes. Working with a vampire has always been something I’ve wanted to do and I’m merely getting my chance to do so now. Have a good day.” He waved as he turned and headed to the door to open it before closing it behind him with a soft click.

Gabriel sighed and watched as Jesse got up from his chair to head to the door himself.

“I’m getting breakfast and a fresh water jug. Need anything?” Jesse asked as he pulled his signature hat on his head and gave Gabriel a warm smile.

“See if you can get the menu for the day off of reception, I’m actually kind of hungry for actual food in my stomach today.” Gabriel admitted sheepishly as he carefully pulled on one of his tan tunics for warmth, being extra careful of the fabric snagging on the stitched while tugging it over his chest area. He smoothed out the tunic before pulling the blankets back up and over his waist as he laid back against the pillows propping up his back comfortably. “Maybe send off the letter to Hanzo and Genji if it's convenient?”

“Sure can do, Gabe.” Jesse grinned as he tipped his hat upwards before giving him a playful wink and turning the doorknob to exit out of the room, locking the door behind him so no one could get into the room while Gabriel relaxed.

Gabriel eyes traveled back to the vial on the nightstand and how it seemed to conveniently land itself there when he needed it the most. 

‘Central guild’s alchemy wing’, huh? Jack’s lobbying of the guild was starting to bore fruit but he was pretty sure Hanzo and Ganji’s father might be strong arming them as well since Gabriel managed to bring Jesse’s mind back from the brink. Vampire medicine that speeds up blood cell creation? To think that something like this was being worked on behind the scenes when any other hunting guild would have kicked out any vampire-sympathisers almost immediately…

How did it get here that quick anyways? Did the guild hall master send a pigeon to Hanzo when Gabriel was dragged in heavily wounded? It might be possible since five pills wouldn't weigh a bird down too much to send it back with a vial…

He honestly did have people looking out for him that wanted to see him safe and healthy outside of Jack…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the slow updates on this! I'm caught up again to where I left off but I'll start grinding away at this story since it's approaching its end. Please leave a review!


	11. Healing and Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse helps Gabe recover and helps Gabriel relax enough to learn more about Hanzo.

Jesse came back with a pitcher of water and trolley cart with two plates full of amazing smelling food that had Gabriel's mouth watering as the other vampire locked up the door behind him. He tucked the key into his back pocket before he resumed pushing the cart forward. The plates had a pile of fried salamander meat, cooked eggs folded into squares (one of them even had an appetizing sauce oozing out of it that smelled so good), and then some mixed cooked vegetables on the sides, steam appetizingly wafting off the food to show how fresh it was from the kitchen. Gabriel watched intensely as Jesse pulled the cart up and set a clean wooden pint on the nightstand before picking up the pitcher to fill the pint up halfway with water. Jesse then handed him the pint of water before setting the pitcher down back down in the middle of the plates on the trolley, and taking the vial off the nightstand to pluck out one of the experimental blood pills for Gabriel to take. 

Gabriel popped the pill down the hatch and began drinking some water from the pint before Jesse recapped the vial to tuck it away in their medical satchel for safe keeping. Jesse then waited for Gabriel to give him the thumbs up to trade the pint for the plate of food that had no sauces on it, likely to keep from irritating his stomach or something (though eating fried food was bad enough, right?). He watched Jesse set the pint down on the nightstand before passing Gabriel some wooden silverware, sans knife (which was metal), and waited until Jesse sat down on the stool, setting his plate on the bed (which Gabriel adjusted his leg location to allow proper room) then started eating with him.

“Weird question but was does salamander meat taste like?” Jesse asked as he started cutting up his fried salamander meat, waiting for Gabriel to finish eating one of the egg rolls and swallow it. Gabriel looked down at the plate in his lap as he racked his brain for all the times heat actually ate salamander, which wasn't a lot, oddly enough, considering the smaller versions were plentiful here in the south.

He decided it would be easier to just cut into the meat and bring it to his lips to take a bite from it. Jesse watched him in awe but mostly looking for visual cues on his face if Gabriel was enjoying it or not before he swallowed the piece down after chewing it for a bit. “Hm. Kind of like frog?” Gabriel offered as he looked over at Jesse, who had a blank expression on his face.

“You… ate frog before?”

Oh god, he was more spoiled than Gabriel first assumed. He paused before going through the memories of Jesse’s childhood across the sea and how heavily they ate fish there before berating himself for thinking Jesse lived nobility like the aristocrats in the country. The Shimadas’ taste for continental cuisine was more recent so it would make sense he never had to eat stuff like frogs and salamanders.

He sighed heavily as he nodded his head. “It’s like a lighter version of chicken?”

“Oh. Really?” Jesse asked curiously as he cut into the meat himself and pushed his fork into one of the cut pieces to bring it up to his face, sniffing at it curiously. Gabriel started at him with a disapproving scowl, making McCree instantly tense up. “What?”

“Just eat it, McCree. It's a lot faster than asking.”

Jesse childishly scowled at him for that retort before shoving the fork into his mouth with the meat then quickly extracted it as he began chewing to spite him for some reason. Gabriel rolled his eyes as he continued to eat more of his folded eggs, chalking Jesse’s behavior up to his hatred of being looked down at but the other vampire was eating the next piece of meat after hesitantly chewing on the bit he had in his mouth and swallowing without any looks of disgust. 

Good enough for Gabriel.

“Well?” Gabriel asked as he watched Jesse finish up eating his salamander meat.

“It’s okay, I guess. Not a bad texture to get used to.” 

Gabriel smirked in amusement before going back to eating his meal. “How’s the sauce here? Smells pretty good.”

“Eh.” McCree shrugged his shoulders dismissively as he began eating his eggs, dipping a corner into the sauce before bringing it to his mouth to bite off. Gabriel just rolled his eyes at that and continued to eat until they both finished off their plates.

“That hit the spot.” Gabriel sighed, pleased with the taste of the meal as Jesse took their plates and placed them onto the trolley with their eating utensils. He reached for the cup of water Jesse refilled and took a long drink, noticing that McCree was watching him with a warm smile on his face. Gabriel felt his cheeks heat up at the attention McCree was giving him before setting the cup back on the night stand. “So… what’s your plan for the day, McCree?” He asked, trying to make the silence less awkward between them.

Jesse gave him a lopsided grin as he relaxed on the stool he was sitting on. “I plan on writin’ ta Hanzo fer maybe an’ hour or so. He’ll scold me pretty bad if I keep puttin’ off writin’ full letters.” He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck in a bashful manner.

Gabriel quirked a brow at that. “A full letter? Aren’t they traveling on the road right now to come join up with us?”

Jesse looked full off embarrassed as he glanced away from Gabriel. “I… well… my writin’- I’ve been strugglin’ with writin’ since I woke back up, to be honest. My speech is jus’ fine but, I have trouble puttin’ it down on paper when I originally didn’t before I got bit.” He explained. “Hanzo wants me to write everyday to the best of my ability and he promised he’ll read it before helpin’ me out with learnin’ to write down words that I wanna use but fergot.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened in surprise at that. He hadn’t known that Jesse was struggling on writing this whole time. The other vampire just kept him in the dark about it while he was receiving assistance from the Shimadas for re-education when Gabriel could have helped out as well in that regard?

“Is there anything else you lost, Jesse?” He asked empathetically, looking at McCree with non judgemental eyes. “I want to help you.”

Jesse’s face flushed lightly on his cheeks as he seemed shocked at that. “I-! C-come on, Gabe! It’s jus’ writin’!” He chuckled nervously as he hand waved Gabriel’s concern. “Jus’ cause I’m a little sketchy on puttin’ thoughts down on paper doesn’t mean ya failed in bringin’ me back!” Jesse sat up proudly, his chest puffing up and all, as he pounded his fist against his chest. “I’m basically ninety-eight percent the man I was before I got bit! I’m all here, it’s jus’ little parts are laggin’ behind, is all!”

Gabriel felt himself chuckle at Jesse’s goofy show of bravado, feeling relieved that the other vampire wasn’t keeping any other secrets from him. It was a miracle in itself that Jesse pretty much made a full recovery and Gabriel honestly should have expected there to be side-effects or at least something close to that. He did a good job with what little knowledge he had on vampires and did an even better job of not fucking up Jesse’s head to make him co-dependant on him. They were partners. “Alright, then. You can get to work on that while I’ll try to get some shut eye. Hopefully, the new pill won’t be a complete bust or make me vomit that good meal we just had.” Gabriel remarked before Jesse handed him one normal blood tablet before popping his own into his mouth then recorked the bottle. He leaned over carefully to grab his pint from the nightstand and placed his tablet in his mouth before they both swallowed their tablets with water.

Jesse placed his own pint on the desk before heading back over to their medical satchel to stow the bottle away safely while Gabriel placed his pint back on the nightstand. He then moved the water pitcher to the desk as well before turning the cart around to start pushing it to the door. Jesse pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked it before opening the door to push the cart out into the hallway. “I’ll be right back, Gabe. Feel free to sleep to yer heart’s content.” He smiled before closing the door and locking it with a click.

Gabriel sighed happily at how good he felt as he carefully worked himself downwards to lay on his back on the mattress, placing the pillow down properly before resting the back of his head on it. 

The fire continued to crackle in a calming manner on the other side of the room in the fireplace, the room only lit by that and the few candles on the wall. It was a very relaxing atmosphere, especially since McCree was going to be in the same room as him. Gabriel was safe and warm, a great combination to help him easily slip back off to sleep, no doubt snoring like a log when McCree came back from dropping off the cart at the kitchen.

\--

“No real changes with the new pills?” The doctor asked curious the next day as he looked over Gabriel’s body. He jotted down notes and made sketches on Gabriel’s progress in his notebook. “No vomiting, cold sweats, hives, or fevers? Do your limbs feel fine? Any numbness or unexplainable hot spots?” 

McCree was sitting incorrectly on the chair by the deck, resting his arms on the back as his chin rested on top of them, watching the doctor work with mild interest. Gabriel couldn't help but notice his facial hair was getting long and unruly, probably since he wasn’t quite interested in staying trimmed if no one was going to say anything about it. That or he forgot to pack a razor in his scramble to catch up to Gabriel in the south. Gabriel’s fingers itched to sculpt that overly rugged face into something a bit cleaner.

“Reyes?”

Gabriel’s attention went back to the doctor as he realized he was staring at McCree and phasing out in his thoughts instead of answering the man’s questions. “Oh. Right.” He brought a hand up to clear his throat. “So far, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary when taken as a supplement with the tablets. No negative reactions that I could note on day one.”

The doctor frowned in disappointment at that and sighed as he began jotting down the information into his notebook that he was keeping specifically to study the tablet. Gabriel felt bad for both the doctor and Jack since Jack was the one who spearheaded these projects to take place and would likely receive backlash from the more conservative members of the guild. Hopefully, Mr. Shimada would back him up and try bringing in more hunters-turned-vampires into the guild for trials to see if others would react more positively to the pill. One test subject and trial was not efficient enough for collecting proper data after all.

“Your wounds are healing nicely regardless if the new tablet is working or not. I will authorize a sponge bath but nothing more until I check up on you tomorrow, Reyes. Your assistant hunter knows how to give one, yes?”

“I am right here, y’know. Ya could just ask.” McCree grumbled in annoyance at that as he lightly scuffed the bottom of his boot against the wooden floor.

“My apologies. Regardless, have you ever administered a sponge bath on a wounded person before?” The doctor restated in an unapologetic way as he regarded McCree's presence. 

“‘Course I did. I reckon I ain’t an ‘assistant’ hunter either. We’re partners and we take care one another.” Jesse replied with plenty of well deserved sass to the doctor. “Ya got a sponge on ya? I’ll get him cleaned up without touchin’ the stitches.” 

The doctor didn't seem to notice the pissed of vampire hunter he was unintentionally aggravating and reached into his satchel to pull out two wrapped up sponges to place on the night stand along with a fresh bar of soap.

“Good! I will be back tomorrow unless you have another question or concern?”

Gabriel smiled at the doctor as he shook his head, eager to get the doctor out if Jesse was in such a foul mood. “No. I’ll send a familiar if I have further questions, Doctor. Thank you.” 

“You are very much welcome, Reyes.” The doctor smiled before getting everything into his satchel, getting up and leaving the room, closing the door behind himself with a click.

Gabriel's eyes went from the door to Jesse sympathetically even though he was clueless as to why the doctor was annoying him when he was perfectly fine with him the other night. Jesse got up from his chair and walked over to the bed, toeing his boots off to climb up and slot himself next to Gabe as they leaned together back against the headboard. The room was still a comfortable warmth even though a log or two could be added to the waning flame. Gabriel enjoyed the warmth of McCree's body as he pressed his side gently against his and reached for Jesse’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jesse slipped his fingers between Gabriel's and rested their joined hands on the space between their thighs.

“So, what you want fer breakfast, Gabe?” Jesse asked, considerably more relaxed now. 

Gabriel smirked in amusement at that. “We get a choice around here?”

Jesse grinned. “Yeah, I saw them serving chicken and eggs at breakfast when I took a leak earlier.”

Gabriel leaned over to sniff at Jesse’s shirt curiously before looking up at him with a quirked brow. “Why do I smell bacon on you then?”

Jesse tensed up and looked away from Gabriel as he chuckled nervously. “Erm… Please don’t ask me to get ya bacon when yer healin’, alright?” He asked sheepishly as he subconsciously squeezed Gabriel’s hand from how anxious he was about the whole thing.

Gabriel found it kind of sweet that he worried about his health like that and considered the way Jesse brought their meals in yesterday with a lot of heavy sauces and such not included in his dishes. Was this his own way of caring for Gabriel without being too overbearing? Gabriel remembered leaching memories from Jesse that showed the Shimadas altering their dishes for him when he was sick as well, so it was probably a habit he picked up on even though Gabe didn't have an upset stomach.

“I don't think bacon is going to kill me, Jesse.” Gabriel chuckled teasingly, enjoying the way Jesse’s cheeks flushed slightly in response. 

“Yeah, well, I’d feel more comfortable with ya gettin’ better than just layin’ ‘bout in bed like an easy target.” Jesse confessed as he looked over at Gabriel with genuine concern. “Like, I wanna trust the guild master here, I really do, but, I know what we are, an’ it wouldn't sit well with me if I was one of the seasoned hunters ‘round these parts. Two vampires are takin’ shelter here and one of them is a master-class? Wounded even? The fact that no one attacked us yet is a blessin’ that I’m countin’ on ‘till Hanzo and Genji show up. Ain’t no one gonna doubt our credibility once our quartet is back together.”

Gabriel took a deep breath and nodded his head in agreement. “I feel that too, Jesse. That itch in the back of your head that has you second guessing the intentions of your supposed allies when you walk into a guild hall. That you can feel the iron of their bolts between your teeth and the sting of their blades in your chest. Why no one is afraid that I’ll go into a bloodlust state with my injuries and leave my room unguarded is very unsettling. I have no ties with this area in the South and yet they treat me like a real guild member. It’s unsettling.”

Jesse’s gaze darkened as he lightly squeezed Gabriel's hand to ground him. “Ya think somethin’ is gonna happen…?” He whispered.

Gabriel let his head lightly hit the headboard as he stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t think so, to be honest. It wouldn't be unheard of if my hunting record traveled from word of mouth from the eastern side of the southern territory, where I used to actively hunt, and they’re a bit more at ease due to that.” He paused before lowering his head to look at Jesse curiously. “Is that why you took your breakfast outside of the room today? To get an idea of the hunters in the area?”

Jesse took his hat off with his free hand and placed it down on his lap, drumming his fingertips against the brim in thought. “Yeah, I guess? Was just watchin’ and wanted to see if anyone or the guild master would say somethin’ like ‘vampire here’s a hunter, Boys! Relax!’ to unintentionally alert newcomers that vamps were stayin’ here. Not a peep out of anyone though. Everyone just kept to themselves and their own groups like usual. Ain't nobody gonna think a vampire would be out an’ about in the morning hours much less eatin’ human food, right?”

“Good point.” Gabriel agreed. “Anything else?”

“Like what, exactly?” Jesse asked curiously as he looked at Gabriel with a raised brow.

“Well… Did anything feel off or was it literally just a normal breakfast? I never did daytime stuff when I hunted here in the southern area so I’m genuinely curious if anyone thought you were ‘off’.” Gabriel offered as an explanation and Jesse hummed as he continued to drum his fingers on his hat.

“That’s… Huh… I never figured ya’ll took t’the night, Gabe.” Jesse remarked instead out of genuine surprise. “I thought ya had a day cycle fer some reason.”

Gabriel snickered in amusement at that. “The sleep schedule change was all Hanzo’s idea since he wanted to keep everything normal for the work staff at the mansion. Maybe to put them at ease at working around a feral vampire?” He offered with a casually shrug of his shoulders.

Jesse slightly frowned at that. “I never bit anyone, right?”

“Huh?”

“I mean… Hanzo and Genji told me that everythin’ went well when ya’ll were tryin’ t’bring me back but how do I know they ain’t lyin’ t’keep me in the dark?” Jesse asked sheepishly.

Gabriel gently squeezed Jesse’s hand in his own while he gave him a reassuring smile. “You were a model example of how heavy tranquilizer darts can incapacitate a feral for human handling. It probably helped that I suppressed your bloodlust state with my own blood. You were quite the nibbler though.” He grinned playfully as Jesse’s face flushed slightly in response.

“I did what now?”

“Nibbled. You wouldn’t go straight for my jugular when I fed you. You always seemed to lazily take your time and nip at my skin.” 

Jesse seemed horrified at learning about that as he tensed up. “God, I’m really sorry, Gabe! I didn’t mean t’draw out yer pain like that!” 

Gabriel laughed in amusement at how awkward it was to hear McCree apologize about it so fervently. “Oh, come on, Jesse. You had absolutely no control over what you did in that state and I thought it was funny rather than agonizing.”

Jesse huffed in response. “I didn’t think it was really funny if that was yer first impression of me.”

“Nah. You basically tore my arm off when we first met so the nibbling wasn’t the worst damage you caused to my being.” He grinned, only feeling a little bit bad at teasing Jesse as he went a deep shade of red in embarrassment, if that was even possible for a vampire to achieve.

“I… Why are ya bein’ like this, Gabe? What did I do to deserve this harassment?” Jesse practically whined before Gabriel smiled and rested his head against Jesse’s shoulder.

“Sorry, punish me as you see fit.” 

Jesse rolled his eyes at that before resting the side of his head against Gabriel's. “Yeah, how ‘bout I have your breakfast food prepared more plain than it already is?”

Gabriel gasped at that. “How inhumane!”

They both chuckled like idiots, Gabriel's chest blooming with warmth as he enjoyed the mirth in Jesse’s laugh and how comforting it was to have someone with him when he was healing. He wasn't sure how he made it through his depressing wound licking after divorcing with Jack and before he was assigned to help Jesse. This security he felt being beside someone who really cared for him, especially as a vampire, was a huge weight of anxiety off his chest. The moment was ruined when Gabriel felt his stomach growl rather painfully and he looked over at Jesse with a sheepish smile.

“Breakfast might be rather nice, not that I don't enjoy this moment we’re having.”

Jesse laughed before lightly patting Gabriel's thigh and slipping off the bed with a smile, taking the warmth Gabriel was enjoying with him. “Yeah, no problem! I kept ya waitin’ long enough as it was after the doc left.” He remarked as he started pulling his boots on. “After we get yer belly filled up with food and blood tablets I’ll get some warm water so we can getcha that sponge bath. I reckon ya’ll feel worse than a greased up pig right ‘bout now!” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face at Jesse’s last remark. “Get a move on, McCree, or I’ll make a meal out of you instead.” 

He instantly regretted that joke when Jesse plopped his hat on his head after he got his boots on and suggestively waggled his eyebrows at Gabriel in response. Gabriel barked out at laugh at how absurd Jesse was being and tossed a pillow at the other vampire, which Jesse caught with a huge grin on his face.

“Get the hell out of here, McCree!” 

“I’mma gettin’, Gabe!” Jesse laughed before he tossed the pillow back gently to Gabriel, landing it easily on his lap. “Be back in but a moment!” He tipped the brim of his hat before making his exit from the room with the key, locking the door behind him after he went out into the hallway.

Gabriel still had a smile on his face as he shook his head in disbelief, moving to slot the pillow behind his back with the other one. Not a boring minute when Jesse McCree was around, that was for certain. He honestly couldn't wait for Hanzo and Genji to rejoin them, finding himself missing the Shimadas as well. Genji would probably be helping Jesse out with bringing the food around while Hanzo might have stayed to converse/protect Gabriel. Gabriel felt his smile turn to a somber one as he could only imagine how hurt they were from his sudden disappearance from the mansion. He was going to do something to make amends with them and beg Hanzo to forgive him if he had to. Living without them wasn't the most enjoyable choice he ever made and he was ready to face the consequences of it. 

\--

By the end of the week, Gabriel was given the green light from the doctor to resume easier bounties and would check in with him one more time next week to make sure there really were no lingering problems from the experimental tablets. The doc wanted to make sure Gabriel’s combat abilities were unaffected before he would close the file on Gabe’s treatment. It was a good idea to take it easy anyways as Gabriel was incredibly stiff when he rose out of bed with Jesse standing by to aid him after the doctor departed.

“Okay. I’m hogging the bath for an hour until I’m sufficiently cleaned off. Sponge baths were okay but I REALLY need to soak now that my wounds are fully closed.” 

Jesse grinned mischievously as he took a pair of keys out of his pocket and whirled them around a finger. “Three steps ahead of ya, Gabe. Catch!”

Gabriel was flabbergasted by McCree’s foresight and caught the keys with an amazed smile. “Wow. Good on you, Jesse.” He was still in his night gown and a loose pair of trousers but he wasn't going to fully dress in his cleaned clothing to soil them as walked stiffly over to the dresser to retrieve his casual attire. 

Jesse hovered nearby but wasn't actively coddling Gabriel by insisting he assist him, instead he let Gabriel lean slightly against him while his muscles were strained from so much bed rest. Gabriel held his folded up clothing to his chest before pushing the drawer closed, smelling Jesse’s cologne from how close they were and finding it to be an oddly comforting scent he had grown used to this past week. He never wore it back at the mansion, but there was quite a few details he would be unable to pick up about McCree’s normal life just by shifting through the memories he received from him. 

“Can you be my cane to the bath, Jesse?” Gabriel asked in a rather sheepish manner, hoping that a little joke would make this situation a bit less awkward since he’d rather not take a fall in a public space.

“Sure thing, Partner!” Jesse grinned as he offered Gabriel his arm to take and carefully walked with Gabe towards the door, mindful of his every strained step.

Gabriel was relieved that the hallway was relatively empty at the moment as they both stepped out and Jesse pulled the door closed behind them. The enticing scent of eggs and cooked meat in the air made Gabriel’s stomach growl but he was in desperate need of a bath first and foremost.

Jesse unlocked and open the door to the bath, the room illuminated by candle light and a lantern. The water in the wooden tub was steaming, Jesse likely using one of Gabe’s engraved fire rune bolts to keep the water hot and surprisingly not setting the tub, itself, on fire in the process. Gabriel continued to stiffly limp along with Jesse after he closed the door behind them and locked it. The was a step stool sitting in the corner with a bucket filled with the bottles of washing tonic Gabriel used along with a large fluffy towel. 

“Trying to spoil me, McCree?” Gabriel grinned as Jesse lead him over to a small table where he could lay his fresh clothing down on. 

Jesse took his hat off and placed it on the table before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Figured ya deserve a nice warm bath after bein’ stuck in bed all week. Used one of your bolts though.” He admitted as he walked over to the tub to pull the bolt out as he chuckled nervously. “It won't be hard to re-bless it with a fire rune, right…?”

Gabriel laughed as he grabbed the hem of his nightgown and lifted it up and over his head before tossing it onto the table. “Nah.” 

He slipped into the warm bath water with a heavy sigh, an enormous amount of stress lifted off his tired, recovering body. McCree pushed the stepstool over with his foot as he carried the bucket and toiletries in his arms, plopping down on it with an ‘oof’ and gave Gabriel a warm, toothy grin. Gabriel smiled softly at that, watching McCree set the bucket down and laid out the bottles of tonics on the floor before scooping up some water in the tub with the bucket.

McCree brought his other hand up to gently guide Gabe’s head forward before lifting up the bucket and slowly letting the warm water run down, over his greasy hair. His freehand running through Gabriel’s curls to get the water to better seep into it as he slowly emptied the bucket, drawing a content sigh from Gabriel’s lips. It was amazing to be pampered like this, especially by someone who clearly adored him to pieces. 

Once the bucket was empty, Jesse scooped up more water into it from the tub and carded his fingers even moreso into Gabriel’s hair to get it to soak properly. His sharps nails grazing Gabriel’s scalp and sending a pleasant wave of warmth through him as he felt his eyes flutter shut in contentment. A fond chuckle coming from the man next to Gabriel outside of the tub as the fingers continued to run through his soaked, tangly mess of hair affectionately.

“Pretty as a picture.” McCree murmured softly, making Gabriel’s face warm up as he felt a smile spread on his lips. 

He kept his eyes closed as McCree set the bucket back down on the floor and popped the cork off the hair tonic. Gabriel wanted to bath in the moment for as long as possible, to feel McCree’s affections for him bleed through every touch and motion as he started lathering Gabriel’s locks into the hair tonic. The other vampire meticulous in making sure every stray curl was brought up and cleaned while gently massaging Gabriel’s scalp in deep, slow circles. An appreciative moan left Gabriel’s lips when Jesse brought his nails back into the mix, making sure to spend extra time on the back of Gabriel’s head and neck to work out the knots that built up from his hair being up in a tight ponytail all the time.

Was this what McCree’s love was like?

People expressed their affections for another in many different ways, sometimes through gentle touches or through actions like cooking a favorite meal when their partner is in a rough patch. Jesse was no different in these regards as he got up from his seat to lean over behind Gabriel, using his slippery hands to start kneading at Gabe’s neck and shoulder muscle with extra gusto. Gabriel hadn’t even asked Jesse to do so but he added on the task as Gabe’s body rolled with the motions of the other vampire’s hands, letting his head be manipulated to allow Jesse better access to strained muscles in his neck that he rubbed expertly from the bottom of his skull to his shoulder.

Gabriel relaxed into literal puddy in Jesse’s hands, the bliss-filled daze he wholeheartedly let himself slip into allowed more bits and pieces of Jesse’s memories to flow into his consciousness:

‘Han, y’really don’t have ta…’ Jesse mumbled as he laid out, face down, and shirtless on the bed as Hanzo rubbed his hands together to warm up the massaging oil while Genji was napping in the other bed right next to them. 

They were all tired from their most recent kill, and returned to the inn they left their extra travel gear at to settle in for the night after the innkeeper insisted they eat some dinner for their good work. Goblins were raiding the local farms nearby and Hanzo, Genji, and Jesse just happened to be passing by the inn before the keeper offered a room and food in exchange for their services. It was a pretty easy task but not one they would pass on just because it was way below their specialty. Jesse fell on his shoulder wrong when performing a roll to dodge a spear thrust for his chest and apparently Hanzo took notice of it on their way back to the inn even when Jesse purposely avoided playing with it for that reason alone.

Hanzo tsked at Jesse’s attempt to brush him off and climbed onto the bed, his weight causing dips in the mattress before the hunter straddled Jesse’s lower back. Jesse couldn’t see the expression on the older Shimada’s face but knew he was probably still disappointed in him keeping quiet about his pain. Warm, oil-covered palms gently pressed to Jesse’s shoulder blade and started moving in slow, methodical circles. 

Things were quiet between them as Genji’s light snores provided an awkward backdrop in tranquil accompaniment of the chirping night bugs outside of the window. 

Jesse felt himself relax after a good few minutes, relieved that Hanzo wasn’t going to use this time to chastise Jesse’s combat techniques while he had him pinned down and at his mercy. He allowed himself to ease the tension in his shoulders without being asked by Hanzo, the warm palms slowly making their way to Jesse’s aching shoulder while also addressing the knots he had throughout his upper back.

It was difficult to take care of such things while constantly on the road and fighting the good fight against both human and others that posed a threat to good folks just trying to live their lives. Jesse figured it had been at least a year since they stopped by the main house to visit Lord Shimada and actually laid in a real bed, much less soaked in a proper bath. All three of them must have had similar pains that they needed to take care of but, here was Hanzo, making sure that Jesse get his back and shoulder pampered instead of just letting a good night’s rest take care of it along with some pain ointment applied when they woke up…

‘We’ll take a few days off when we get to father’s mansion. You’ve been working very hard, Jesse.’ Hanzo whispered down to him as he carefully moved his hands to work on Jesse’s shoulder, noticing how the other hunter under him tensed up from the pain of having the sore muscles manipulated. ‘Shh… You’ll feel much better if I work on it now so it can heal properly while you sleep.’ He reassured Jesse, a hand gently brought to his back to run down it affectionately while the other one continued to roll the lightest circles onto the throbbing muscles.

Jesse shuddered lightly at the affectionate trace of fingers down his back, warmth blossoming in him from how kind Hanzo can be. ‘I love you, Han.’ He murmured to his partner, drawing a warm chuckle from the Shimada heir above him.

‘I love you too, Jesse.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking months to update this fic! Special thanks to those who were peppering in reviews to remind me that people still love this fic! 
> 
> Your review get results!
> 
> The plan is for me to juggle this fic and one other until this one gets finished. No more outrageous delays!


	12. We Find Ourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reunites but with two newcomers to shake things up, both good and bad.
> 
> Hanzo and Gabriel have the first of many heart-to-hearts they sorely needed.

A few days later, Jesse received a raven from Hanzo that had a note for the sole purpose of giving them a heads up that their group was almost to the southern guildhall. Jesse was absolutely ecstatic as he and Gabriel sat in the guildhall at a table facing the large double doors, his foot bouncing in excitement at the reunion that was coming. The snow still falling outside on this night they were ideally going to show up.

Gabriel felt nothing but anxiety twist his insides as he feared the unknown that was Hanzo and the possibility that he might change his mind about everything. He mostly feared that he would reconsider having a polyamorous relationship between Him, Jesse and Gabriel after the shit he pulled by leaving without saying anything. Hanzo would have every right to not trust Gabriel to bolt again, especially when Jesse insisted on bringing him back, but that was mostly doubt talking in his mind. 

He was glad that Jesse was genuinely excited to see Hanzo and Genji again, it was just another reassurance that his sway as a ‘master’ over Jesse wasn't as strong as it could have been. 

Part of him secretly wanted to take Hanzo aside and try to talk everything through with him after months of experiencing Jesse’s memories of him. He was a man who could understand and empathize with others, maybe even help Gabriel through his emotion constipation issues. It would be nice to possibly get back on good terms with Hanzo so they could go back to just enjoying each other’s quiet company while McCree and Genji made fools of themselves trying to impress him, like before in the mansion’s garden when McCree was retraining his marksmanship.

Jesse bolted up in his seat when the door opened up, snow blowing into the hall entrance as a familiar pair of bundled up brothers in winter gear stepped inside, holding the door open as two equally covered up children came in from the cold. The other vampire rushed around the table as Hanzo pushed the fur-lined hood of his cloak back with a sigh, his face flushing from the cold before Jesse slammed into him, startling Hanzo as his eyes flew wide open in surprise and struggled against Jesse’s determination to get a hug in.

“Jesse?! What has gotten into- ! Mhm-!!” Hanzo was only able to get a few words out before McCree seized him by the lapels of his cloak to pull him into a breathtaking kiss, stunning Gabriel as Genji closed the door to keep the cold out. The Shimada heir quickly pulled away, completely offended by the vampire as he narrowed his eyes at Jesse. “What has gotten into you, Jesse McCree?!”

Jesse seemed startled by that, making a deep surge of anger flow through Gabriel at the way Hanzo balked at Jesse’s sincere affection he had at their reunion. He clenched his hands by his sides, trying to mask the ugly heaps of jealousy Gabriel was feeling in that moment. A more rational part of himself knew that Hanzo probably was not one for huge, moving displays of affection in public but that just continued to feed into the envy he was experiencing. All the quiet and subtle gestures Jesse gave Gabriel just seemed so out of line with this sickeningly public kiss he was giving his actual partner.

Genji seemed just as confused for a moment before shooting a look towards the little brunette girl that pulled her hood back, her eyes a startling bright shade of red as she kept her focus on McCree. “Hey- ! What are you doing?!” 

Gabriel felt several warm brushes on his mind, encouraging his feelings of jealousy until he was coming around the table. Genji snapped his head towards Gabriel as he heard him approach, tensing up before quickly slipping in front of Jesse and Hanzo. Gabriel anger held steady at Genji’s act of intercepting him, coldly coming to a halt in front of the younger Shimada hunter as he locked his gaze with him.

“Move-!”

Genji glared at Gabriel but not out of spite as he brought his gaze to the brunette standing off to the side a few feet away from them, perking Gabriel’s curiosity even as the hot flames following over his mind continued to try to push him forward. The dueling sensations in Gabriel head made him nauseous, especially when the bright-eyes vampire turned her attention to Gabriel, visibly straining herself as she gritted her teeth. It was then that Gabriel physically pulled away from Genji and clamped his hands over his temples, focusing instead on the heat trying to influence his mind and push back at it.

The girl let out a loud gasp before Gabriel heard something tumble to the floor, the heat gone from his mind along with the jealousy he was feeling. Genji’s arms wrapped around Gabriel’s body supportively when he staggered forward, snapping his eyes closed and breathing slowly through his nose to dispel the nausea that washed over him as his mind once again became his own.

“Hana Song! How dare you-!?” Genji spat in outrage, absolutely stunning Gabriel to hear him yell at anyone, especially when a choked sob from a kid was the reply he got. “I TOLD you she was the real thing, Brother, but you just had doubt me!”

Hanzo growled in annoyance in response as Genji helped guide Gabriel to a chair to sit down, Gabriel mumbling a ‘thank you’ to the younger Shimada brother before he pulled away to confront his brother. Gabriel had to steady himself with several deep breaths before he could even think to open his eyes to see the almost chaotic scene about to unfold before him; Several dining/relaxing hunters at their tables now standing with their weapons brandished and aiming at Hanzo and the others by the doors, Jesse leaning heavily against Hanzo for support as Hanzo held him with one arm and a flint pistol in the other aimed squarely at the brunette little girl collapsed on her knees, said-child bracing her hands on the floor and vomiting out brown fluid, another child down on their knees next to them and consoling the other with reassuring rubs to her back, and Genji, with his knives, standing bravely between the hunters and his brother’s group, his hand on the handle of the sword on his back should another of them move to hurt them.

Well, this was a situation that could VERY easily spiral south with one wrong move…

The child beside the dry heaving one was the first to speak up, unaware, or maybe just not concerned with the danger they were in. “Master Song, I believe your first impression was an incorrect one. Perhaps an explanation and apology is called for in this situation you have created.” They wisely spoke as they continued to rub soothing circles into the vampire’s back.

Gabriel watched the little girl push herself upright, her body still trembling as she brought her sleeve up to wipe the vomit off her lips, muted red eyes dazed for a second before filled with fear as she realized all the weapons that were drawn on her from the hunters beyond Genji. “Wh-What- ?! Why is everyone trying to kill me?!” She practically cried out, clearly terrified as she scrambled backwards against the door. “I was just trying- !”

“What the fuck is a Count doing in the guildhall?!” One of the hunters from the tables yelled out in offense.

“Are you serious?! The kid’s a Count-class?!” Another spouted off in fear.

“That explains the fuzzy shit screwing with my head…” Jesse groaned, Gabriel agreeing with the sentiment as he continued to rub at his temples with his fingers.

“Cartwell! How many damn bloodsuckers are ya gonna let in before this place becomes an official blood bank?!” One of the hunters barked at the guildhall master, the man flinching as he watched the whole thing play out back by the reception desk with no visible weapon on himself. A smart move, Gabriel thought, since their group would roll these hunters easily.

The man held his hands up to try to placate both parties and stay neutral. “L-Listen! I got orders t’let these guys stay! They’re official hunters too!”

“Bullshit! The other two were bad enough but now we gotta shack up with a Count on top of that?!”

Genji stepped forward in the guildhall master’s defense at that. “She and her companion are protected under the Council’s orders! If you wish to lodge a complaint then do it properly by raven! No blood shall be spilt in these halls without my sword’s swift response!” He warned the hunters before turning to look at Count Song. “That includes any vampires trying to influence others.”

The vampire child narrowed her eyes in response to the swordsman's warning but gave up quickly as she lowered them back to the ground in shame. “I’m sorry…”

It was at that moment that Hanzo stowed away his pistol back into the new holster Gabriel spotted under his cloak, making Gabriel wonder what exactly it does to vampires, other than the obvious, to warrant him carrying it around. Perhaps new anti-vampire tech the guild created? Concerning but not unwarranted considering that vampires would still be a group that will continue to terrorize civilians even with three vampires on the guild’s side. 

Hanzo helped Jesse get seated at a table nearby, keeping a sympathetic eye on his as the vampire slouched over and held his head with his hands, clearly still in pain. Most of Gabriel’s had subsided by now as he got up, not even afraid that the hunters still had their weapons drawn, and walked over calmly to squat down in front of the brunette vampire. She couldn’t be older than fifteen from how small she was in stature yet was a Count-class vampire? He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t been influenced by her powers and manipulated to harbor intense feelings of jealousy. It was as if she was using Gabriel and Jesse as dolls in a toy house just to demonstrate her abilities over them but it wasn’t at the level of a seasoned Count-class vampire since he was able to break out of it and cause a rebound effect on her. 

It would explain why Hanzo seemed so thrown off and offended by Jesse’s kiss; The two of them never exchange greetings so openly in public and that was the first major clue that one of them had been influenced.

Little missy, here, managed to teach both Jesse and himself the signs of manipulation; both physically and mentally. The fact that she did it as her first impression was clearly misguided though but an apology was the first step in the right direction, like her friend said.

Gabriel offered her his hand to assist her getting up. “Name’s ‘Gabriel Reyes’.” He introduced himself, the Count nodding her head before reaching to grasp his much larger hand, and stood up together.

“Countess Hana Song.” She spoke in an apologetic tone, giving Gabriel a slightly bow of her head to be polite as she pulled her hand away from his. Gabriel watched as she glanced over to the other child and watched him pull his hood back to reveal an equally young-looking male child with a bald head and several curious blue marks on his forehead. “This is my servant, Zenyatta.” She gestured to the other child as he brought his hands up and pressed them together in prayer.

“Peace and blessing be upon you all.” He smiled warmly before giving them all a polite bow.

Gabriel gave him a nod of his head in return. “Though I can’t say I approve of some of your greeting methods…” He spoke, letting the obvious sit in the air for a moment without further embarrassing the young countess by looking at her. “It is good to finally meet you both. My name is ‘Gabriel Reyes’, a Master-class vampire who hunts on the behalf of the Nightwatch Guild.” Gabriel then raised his hand and gestured over to Jesse, who’s face was still down on the table as her groaned from nausea. “That’s ‘Jesse McCree’, my… apprentice, you could say. I disagree with the ‘servant’ label since he’s still a skilled hunter like I am for the guild.” He explained, earning a quirk of the countess’ brow in response.

Count Song casually crossed her arms over her chest as she glanced curiously from Jesse to Gabriel before setting her eyes on Hanzo. “Huh. So, you were right about their bond being unconventional, Hanzo Shimada.”

Hanzo looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at her obvious observation but resisted out of respect for her as she walked over, with Zenyatta in tow, to take a seat across from Jesse McCree. Gabriel, Hanzo, and Genji took their seats at the long table with them, the hunters ignored and left grumbling at the thwarted fight to resume their own meals and conversations while the vampire group took to their own discussion. Hanzo waited until everyone was situated before clearing his throat to speak. “Indeed, it is as I told you, Countess Song. Their bond is not one through violent subjugation and brainwashing, but through mutual understanding and a desire to keep one another the same as they have always been.” He explained to the Countess as he placed a gentle hand on Jesse’s back to his left, making the vampire shift and groan as he continued to press his forehead to the table. 

Gabriel eyed Jesse with some concern, two seats to the left of the Countess across from the gunslinging vampire. His own nausea was long gone but Jesse was still suffering from its effects? Was the power of a Count-class over a servant/slave that much more potent?

“Is McCree going to be okay anytime soon?” Gabriel spoke up apologetically for interrupting the conversation, all eyes going to him for a moment before looking over at Jesse.

Countess Song hummed curiously at that as she removed her gloves and tucked them away into the pockets of her cloak. “You say he was a feral at one time, yes? Ferals are the easiest vampires to subject to our orders due to their mental barriers having all been shattered, unlike that of a slave and/or servant, the two terms are interchangeable. Though Jesse McCree may be of the rank of a servant, he’ll have the mental resistance of a feral unless the barrier is reinforced.” She explained the best that she could, Hanzo nodding his head in understanding.

“Out of curiousity, what label hierarchy do you use for vampires, Countess Song?” Hanzo asked, probably wanting to get everyone on the same page when it came to her terminology. 

She smiled approvingly at his question before answering. “Sure thing, Hanzo Shimada. Starting from the bottom, we’ll start with ranking changed humans, since natural vampires are their own tier above them, and it’s more relevant in our current discussions now and in the future.” The Countess started. 

“At the very bottom are feral vampires: Humans who have been bitten by a vampire, converted or natural, but has not been fully drained of blood or given any to give them an actual vampire rank. They are without personality and only know the hunger of blood, hence, the easiest to control.”

“Above them are what we call ‘slaves and/or servants’: Humans that were fully drained of their blood or given enough blood from another servant/slave to allow them to retain a portion of their sanity. Most of these types of vampires make up covens as a large percentage.”

“Above them are what you refer to as ‘Master-class’ vampires, like Gabriel Reyes: Humans that were fully drained of their blood BUT given blood by a pure blooded vampire born from two, full blooded vampire parents. They are considered the highest rank a human can obtain amongst vampires and are chosen to typically lead covens with high percentages of slaves/servants to keep things normal. ‘Former humans should be ruled by former humans and THAT one human the servant to a pure blood vampire’, is basically how it goes in a normal hierarchy.” Countess Song finished explaining to them with a pleased smile on her face. “Any questions?”

Gabriel raised his hand for a moment to get everyone’s attention before speaking. “How do we go about ‘reinforcing’ his mental barrier? We can’t have other vampire messing with McCree nor leave him behind should we have to face the possibility of a Master-Class, or even a run-of-the-mill pure-blooded vampire turning him against us.”

“Gradual daily exposure is one way we can do it.” The Countess offered as she folded her arms on the table. “That, or, we can use the same approach but with Gabriel Reyes since his influence would be something Jesse McCree’s body would be more familiar with.”

Gabriel paused at that statement and quirked a brow at the Countess’ assumption. “I do not believe I know how to, Countess Song.”

She smiled in understanding at Gabriel in response. “Then I’ll be sure to assist you with that so you can better synchronize yourselves in battle like Zenyatta and I do!” Her servant, Zenyatta, nodded his head in agreement with the Countess, a warm smile lifting the corners of his lips.

“Indeed, it is quite helpful to know how exactly Countess Song with maneuver and attack as she is thinking about it and moving rather than waiting for hand signals or vocal commands in combat situations. It is as if her eyes and mind are my own, both of us moving in harmony.” Zenyatta explains eloquently to the group, giving Gabriel and the others some reassurance of what it’s like to be controlled on that level.

McCree let out a groan before raising his hand. “I’mmall fer it.” He managed to speak before his arm comedically falls to the table with a loud thud. 

Hanzo lets out an incredulously sigh and rolls his eyes while Genji barely managed to conceal his amused smile behind his hand. “Regardless of what Jesse thinks he is consenting to, I believe we should save this conversation for tomorrow. We are all worn from a long journey here and should get some well-deserved sleep before resuming these talks.” Hanzo informed everyone as he got up from the table, Countess Song let out a long yawn, exposing her elongated canines before quickly bringing up her hand to muffle it. 

It looked like Hanzo wasn’t the only one tired from their long hike to the Southern territories. Gabriel watched as Genji stretched his arms out behind his head, the adrenaline from earlier sapping the younger Shimada’s energy as he too let out a yawn. Hanzo left to head over to the reception desk while Gabriel pondered on there being enough rooms for all of them, including the traveling hunters that threatened them earlier. The look of annoyance on Hanzo’s face as he walked back over with one room key was enough to get the point across.

“There are not enough open rooms for us all.” Hanzo spoke as he returned to the table, the others looking at him in surprise.

“Seriously?” The Countess spoke as a pout formed on her lips.

Hanzo nodded his head before he glanced over at Gabriel. “How many rooms do you two have here?”

“Two.” Gabriel answered before Hanzo grunted in acknowledgement and set the new key with a number tagged on it down on the table in front of Countess Song. “You can take this room, Countess.”

The Countess lit up at that as she happily took the key like it would open a handsomely filled treasure chest. “Sure thing! Thank you, Hanzo Shimada!”

Hanzo smiled slightly at that then turned to glance at the curious gazes, minus Jesse, directed at himself and pondered for a moment. “Zenyatta and Genji will take McCree’s room while Jesse will relocate with myself to Gabriel’s room. Does this arrangement suffice?” He asked, leaving the air open to discussion if anyone had any major objections to the room assignments.

Zenyatta raised his hand politely and Hanzo nodded his head in acknowledgement. “You may speak.”

“Thank you.” The child smiled. “I understand your logic for giving Countess Song privacy, but I do not feel comfortable leaving my master unguarded while she sleeps in a hunter-filled lodge. If it offends your standards to have me stand guard in her room, unsupervised, then I wish to have a chair so I may stand guard outside in the hall.” He requested politely, surprising the group for a moment.

Right, cause they were both children and it ideally would be easy to kill the Countess in her sleep if she had no one to guard her…

Gabriel was willingly to play devil’s advocate if no one else was interested. “You are correct that this is a hunter’s guild but vampires, especially known ranked ones like the Countess, are not allowed to be stalked or killed unless a bounty is put out on them.” He offered.

Zenyatta nodded his head wisely in consideration for Gabriel’s counter-argument. “You are correct but, seeing the reaction of the local hunters when they learned of my master’s rank does not reassure me that she will be safe, hunting rules in place or not. You were injured at one point, Master Reyes, were you not?” He asked politely, Gabriel already seeing how the child would shoot down his argument clearly.

“Yes, I was.”

“What precautions did you and your servant take while you were recovering here in these halls?”

Gabriel pursed his lips lightly together before conceding, not wanting to lie to anyone, especially when the guild master could testify differently. “No one knew there were vampires here until I was recovered enough to stand a chance to fight back or flee. McCree often stayed in my room to stand guard even when he had his own room.” He admitted, his eyes glancing over to Hanzo for his reaction but merely saw the Shimada heir nod his head in approval. Gabriel felt an odd warmth in his cheeks at that but ignored it for now.

“Ah. Here lies the difference, hunters are aware of my master’s presence here and see her as a threat to the shaky bits of peace they have around here. I merely wish to be allowed the ability to protect her, especially with the odds stacked against her for just being what she is, with no one giving consideration for WHO she is. That is all.” Zenyatta concluded, making it difficult for Gabriel or Jesse to say otherwise with their own experience in the guild hall in regards to how they treat vampires.

Touche.

“Okay, my next concern comes from the fact that it looks rather bad to have two youthful-looking persons staying in a room without an adult present. I realize that it has to be hard being over one hundred years old and looking like a pre-teen-”

The Countess immediately laughed at that, her arms hugging her belly as she keeled over laughing in her seat, making Gabriel blink in confusion. His eyes glanced over skeptically at Hanzo and saw the Shimada heir let out a heavy sigh, meaning that he must have messed up in his logical reasoning somewhere. Was the Countess not actually older than she looked? 

“Mistress, it is not polite to laugh at one’s ignorance when it comes to these matters.” Zenyatta chided the wheezing Countess, Gabriel’s respect for the vampire dropping significantly to the floor.

“He thinks I’m over one hundred! That’s p-precious!” Countess Song laughed as tears beaded up in the corners of her eyes. “I finally met someone who actually thinks that vampires can be THAT old while looking like a kid!”

Gabriel pursed his lips together at that, looking quite unamused as the hunters across the room glanced at him from their tables and snickered quietly. Great. There goes all of his own hard-earned respect as well. No one was going to take him seriously as much after being laughed at by a little kid.

How the fuck was he suppose to know that the rumor had no foundation?!

Zenyatta sighed at his mistress’ inappropriate amusement with the subject matter and gave Gabriel an empathetic look. It just made Gabriel pity the other child for having to be the ‘advisor’ in the relationship when he was basically just a kid himself. The servant then turned back to his mistress before lightly tapping her shoulder to get her attention. “Mistress, it is best that you remember that you are to be their teacher and a future leader of the vampire population in this country. I suggest a little more tack be shown least you make your new followers, and the hunter’s guild backing you, find you sorely lacking the qualities they expect of you.” He kindly reminded her, making the Countess’ lips snap shut as she looked at her servant in genuine shock.

“O-oh… Right…” She mumbled before warily glancing over at the rest of her table’s occupants.

Genji sighed and ended up raising his hand to get everyone’s attention. “I’ll keep watch over both of them, Gabriel. Would that suffice?”

Gabriel frowned at that and shook his head. “I’ll do it. You’ve all had a long journey here and it’s about time that I pulled my own weight around since I’m now able to.” He insisted to the group, making the Countess purse her lips in annoyance at that.

“You could have just offered to do so in the first place.”

He turned his gaze to Countess Song before glancing over at Hanzo and Jesse for a moment. Hanzo quirked a brow in confusion at Gabriel’s focus turning to him before Gabriel decided to just drop the impulse to explain himself as he looked back at the Countess. “You’re right. I apologize for wasting everyone’s time when you are all clearly ready for some good shut eye. We’ll catch up in the morning, alright?”

“Agreed.” Hanzo spoke before slipping one of Jesse’s arms over his shoulder and helping the groggy vampire to his feet. The others rose up as well, gathering up their bags and heading for the rooms.

Tonight was not the night for Hanzo, Jesse, and Gabriel to talk about the big elephant in the room between the three of them regardless if that might have been Hanzo’s intention with the room assignment he proposed earlier. They would have plenty of time to talk about it now that they were all together and Gabriel finally came to terms with his own feelings. Following the others to the dorm hall, Gabriel watched them all disappear into their respective rooms, feeling something rather fond when Hanzo came back out of Gabriel’s room and gently closed the door behind him.

Hanzo looked tired but gave Gabriel a wry small smile as he eyed the master vampire leaning back against the wall by the Countess room and took a few steps forward to join him. The elder heir casually crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, Gabriel feeling a pleasant warmth blossoming in his own from how close their elbows were to grazing against each other’s.

“Jesse isn’t going to be too happy when he wakes up alone in there, you know.” Gabriel chuckled quietly.

Hanzo’s lips curved slightly upwards at that in amusement as he glanced over to the door across from them that Gabriel was gesturing to. “Indeed, but, I have found myself unable to find rest. Traveling for two weeks at night has thrown off my schedule and I might as well keep vigilance with a friend.” He answered simply as he brushed off Gabriel’s concerns easily.

It felt nice having someone other than Jesse make excuses to spend time around him, even if it probably was partially true for why Hanzo wandered out into the hall instead of spending time with Jesse. Speaking of Jesse…

“I’m kind of surprised you just let him travel alone. It takes a lot of faith to do what you did, especially with how far away he went from your protection.” Gabriel murmured quietly to the other man, glancing over at Hanzo as he watched his expression fall back to his usual, unreadable one. 

“It would not have occurred if my responsibilities were not as divided like it was, Gabriel.” Hanzo started off, “Genji originally insisted that I retrieve you myself after we found your room vacant and Jesse borderline hysterical in grief. It would not have been wise, though, since I was not in the right mind to bring you back without some form of punishment being enacted.”

Gabriel tensed a bit at the seriousness of Hanzo’s tone before the hunt raised on hand up and waved off the vampire’s concerns.

“I apologize if my honesty has brought you discomfort, Gabriel. It is obviously not a path I wish to take anymore but I wanted you to understand that your actions did more than just hurt Jesse. I, too, felt betrayed and mistakenly judged my own blind panic being satisfied by forcefully subjecting you return than speaking to allow me to understand your reasons for fleeing.” He spoke apologetically as he tucked his hand back away to resume his previous comfortable pose. “Were the Countess not anticipating my presence at the manor then I might not have had enough time to think to ask Jesse of why you left. To think that I forgot your bond would have been a serious misstep on my behalf and, following that, I wish to seek a more open exchange between you and I from now on, Gabriel.” 

Gabriel felt rather moved by the way Hanzo humbly admitted his faults and watched the hunter gaze at him with eyes filled with regret and guilt. An honest display of humility and show of how much he respected Gabriel when he could have gotten away with never telling the vampire of how rightfully pissed he was for Gabriel’s departure. Gabe probably would have beaten his own ass black and blue if he were in the delicate position that Hanzo was, especially with the lack of conversation between the two of them. It made him wonder if perhaps Jesse kept more of Gabriel’s memories to himself than Gabriel originally thought…

“... I’m sorry, Hanzo.”

Hanzo hummed at that as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. “I will accept your apologies as long as things change between the two of us. Genji and Jesse should not always be forced to play messenger on our behalves. I understand that I might come off as… unapproachable and kept occupied by clerical work but I will try to make time should you wish to speak with someone.” He remarked, a bit of hesitance in trying to describe himself honestly and Gabriel felt his lips purse together at how hard Hanzo was trying to bring them both to a mutual understanding. “I can easily imagine why it’s more preferable to go to my brother or Jesse when you seek to confide in someone but… I’m here for you as well.” 

Gabriel smiled at that, feeling a lot more comfortable with Hanzo after hearing him out and felt like offering his own olive branch as well. “I kind of missed you and I having tea together, to be honest. Genji and Jesse are always full of life and a riot to be around but, I felt like I could really unwind as a twenty-four hour vampire babysitter by having those moments of relief beside you.”

Hanzo chuckled quietly in amusement at the ‘babysitter’ quip, making Gabriel’s lips lift a bit at how nice it was to hear it outside of Jesse’s memories. He could easily see why Jesse fell hard for him, Hanzo was a very grounded individual and had his own charms past his stoic nature. The man was like a constant, calming breeze on a hot, sunny day. 

“I was rather afraid you found me to be a bore compared to my younger brother and Jesse.” Hanzo grinned. “It is difficult for me to take your compliment serious since I know it is Jesse that you find yourself gravitating too as well. You do not have to find yourself scrambling to find words of flattery, Gabriel. All I simply ask is that we communicate more than not.”

The vampire found himself appalled by Hanzo brushing off Gabriel’s honest admission as being pointless flattery, unaware that he was very capable of being charming in his own way. “Ever thought that maybe I could come around to finding you appealing in your own way as well?” He whispered to Hanzo, wanting to keep it quiet in case someone was listening in on them since they were in the hallway.

Hanzo smiled wryly at that and shook his head. “Perhaps, but, not now.” Was all he offered and Gabriel figured he wanted to leave it be until they had a more private place to speak. Preferably with Jesse awake and present too.

They stayed vigilant throughout the rest of the night together, chatting once and awhile about the area and little things like that but mostly just enjoying the calm of the other’s presence. At least, that’s what Gabriel hoped Hanzo got out of it like he did. The Shimada heir was a lot more thoughtful than he assumed he was. Gabriel hoped that things would change for the better for the both of them sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter! Hana and Zenyatta join the cast as kids! Reyzo moments finally fucking happen!
> 
> Leave a review and scream about what you like or don't like!!! Reviews give me life and drive to churn out more chapters!


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